Oak Trees
by BigBadWolfTardis
Summary: Oswin Oak never wanted to become a trainer. All he wanted to do was stay at home and focus on his dream career of being a writer and illustrator. Forced to get a job at his Grandfather's lab, Oswin is soon sent all over Kanto on various assignments; all the while his crazy friend and rival is trying to force him into taking on the Pokémon League. Based on Leaf Green and Fire Red.
1. Operation 1 – Get Professor Oak's Goods

**Hello! So, yeah, I've started yet ANOTHER story! I really should finish my others first, but I really want to get this one going so here it is, ahead of schedule as I planned to release this much later in the year. Now, this one shall be a little different to my other Pokemon Story in the sense that it will much more like the games as opposed to the anime, but it will have various aspects and events of the anime cropping up in it. There will be violence, death, foul language, sexual references and other older themes, but right now it's not so bad, just some coarse language in this chapter. Anyway, the main character is my OC Oswin Oak, Gary's twin brother, and this story is based on the Leaf Green/Fire Red Pokemon games. Please leave a review, and I hope you all enjoy this story. Also, please remember that Pokemon is not mine, but Oswin Oak is. **

**Enjoy : )**

**... **

**Operation 1 – Get Professor Oak's Goods**

On an island cut adrift from the mainland and surrounded by bone-chilling icy waters, a dark figure which seemed nothing more than a mere shadow opened its one, eerie pale blue eye. The creature looked up at the night sky. No stars were shining it in, much to the creature's delight. It had always loved the dark, and better yet it feed his awesome shadowy powers, powers he was not afraid to use to achieve his own ends. Regardless of what those ends meant for everybody else.

'He has arrived' the creature muttered excitedly to himself, and with nobody around to see him, the creature took off floating through the night. He had a long journey to make after all, and not an awful lot of time to make it in if his great plan was to succeed. With his destination clear in mind, the creature left its solitary island behind. If this all worked the way he planned, he wouldn't need to stay hidden for much longer anyway. Maybe a year, but that was longest it would take, that make he was certain of.

The creature was headed to the Kanto region. And Kanto had better be ready for it.

…

The sun was slowly rising over the sleepy town of Pallet. It was a brisk, slightly chilly day in the earlier days of January, but the sky was bright and cloudless. In the messy upstairs bedroom of a small little house, a fifteen boy was preparing for the most exciting day of his life.

However, on the other side of the bedroom, there was another fifteen year old boy, and this one was sitting at a written desk, the pen in his hand flying across a blank piece of paper as the words came to him like magic. Twins. The two boys were twins, nearly identical to boot but there were also some rather gaping differences.

The one packing the bag wore a purple jumper and blue jeans, and had a messy mane of muddy brown spiky hair and dark brown eyes. The teenager at the desk had exactly the same face, only his spiky hair was a golden blonde colour and his eyes were a bright sapphire blue. He wore a jade blue hoodie and black jeans with black leather boots.

But those weren't the only differences between the two brothers. One wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, the other did not.

_(Hi, my name is Oswin Oak and I'm fifteen years old)_

'Oz! Will you put down that bloody pen and get your arse in gear!' his twin snapped at him, glaring at him as he put some more clothes into his backpack.

_(Today is the day I have been trying to escape from my entire life. Today is the day I'm supposed to get a pokemon and go on a Pokémon journey to become a strong trainer. It is so NOT going to happen!)_

'How many times do I have to say it Gazz? I. Will Not. Go. On A. Pokémon. Journey.' Oswin, or Oz as Gary 'Gazz' Oak had called him for as long as he could remember, replied as if talking to a half-wit.

_(My entire family loves pokemon to bits, and it's not that I dislike them myself, it's just that I have other ideals I'd rather stride for. What I really what is to become a writer and illustrator and to publish my own series of books, but my family just refuse to accept that. It's so lame but I just can't get them to listen to a word I say about it)_

'Look, you heard what Dad said. He won't allow you to stay here rent free if you refuse to go on your own journey. And mom said that if you don't get a pokemon today I can't either, so stop being so selfish and get your arse in gear now!' Gazz snapped at him and Oswin glared at him.

'N, O spells no' he said childishly and Gazz resorted to more extreme measures. He lunged at his brother and wrestled him out of the chair and to the floor, grabbing Oswin's favourite writing pen and throwing it across the room.

'Gazz! Get off me!' Oswin yelled, grappling with his brother in order to free himself.

'NO! Stop being such a selfish dickhead and just get ready to go see Grandpa!' Gazz screamed back at him, before he got up off of Oswin, kicked him roughly in the shin, snatched up his bag and stormed out of the room.

_(Ow, rotten little bastard. Anyway, as I was saying. I really don't want to become a pokemon trainer. I was so ecstatic when the Pokémon League put the age limit up to fifteen. It used to be ten, but with crime levels rising in the region die to a terrorist organisation known as Team Rocket, it was deemed too dangerous for anyone under fifteen to be able to handle. Gazz was furious… I found it hilarious)_

Glowering at his twin's empty side of the room that they shared, Oswin retrieved his pen and returned to writing at his desk; jotting down some simply notes for a new character he was planning to try out in one of his online stories.

_(You see, my Grandfather is a renowned Pokémon Professor called Professor Oak. He is responsible for giving Licences and starter Pokémon to rookie trainers, whilst also doing extensive research into pokemon, trying to unravel some of the mysteries that come with the creatures we humans share the planet with. He finds it fascinating, and unfortunately for me, most of my family agrees with him)_

'OSWIN OAK!' a loud voice bellowed from downstairs and Oswin sighed, sensing another argument was about to kick off. Slamming down his writing pen once more, Oswin arose from his chair and crossed the room, pulling his hoodie tighter around himself as he descended down the stairs.

_(OK, so here's a classic morning in the Oak household)_

As Oswin walked into the kitchen, he saw his mother Mildred Oak, a beautiful woman with brown eyes and blonde hair, trying to get Oswin's younger sister Alicia Oak, an adorable four year old who was more like the devil incarnated, to eat her breakfast.

His father was sitting at the dinner table, a plate of toast before him, and he looked absolutely furious, which was no change from normal. Beside him sat Gary, who was glaring at Oswin as well.

_(Here we go. Apparently it's already 'Let's all gang up on Oswin Time', and it's not even ten o'clock yet. That's got to be a new record)_

'So' Ivan Oak, the father of Oswin, Gary, Alicia (And their absent older sister Daisy Oak who was currently off on her own journey to become the Champion) spat, his jade blue eyes flashing daggers at the fifteen year old that had just entered the room.

'So' he said again as Oswin sat down, and Oswin, being such a cheeky sod when he felt like it (Which was most of the time), just couldn't help himself.

'So what?' he demanded smartly, smirking at his father, much to said man's annoyance.

'Watch your lip. Gary tells me that you've got it into your head that you're _not_ going anywhere today. That you're staying here, sponging off us, being lazy, and basically being a bum' Ivan spat at him. Oswin glared icily at Gary, who glared right back at him. Mildred looked up at the scene, a worried look tugging at her lips. Alicia, being rather bratty, was just annoyed that they were talking over her favourite breakfast television show.

'Oh Gary did did he? Is that what Gary said? I think perhaps Gary left out the part where I said I wanted to become a writer and NOT a trainer, or maybe your ears are so clogged up with pokemon dung you just didn't hear that part' Oswin snapped back and his father's face turned white with rage.

'SILENCE! I shall not be spoken to like that in my own home! You _will_ either go on a journey boy or you can get out of this house!' Ivan roared, spraying spit across the dinner table, much to Oswin's disgust.

'That's the same thing!' Oswin yelled back at him.

'Well it's either those options or get a job and pay us rent!' Ivan raged, breathing like an angry Tauros. Despite being a pokemon lover, Ivan Oak was extremely short tempered and this argument had been going on for weeks. It was quite clear he was sick and tired of it now, and if Oswin was being honest, he was sick of it to.

'FINE! A job and rent it is then!' Oswin screamed back.

_(Great, dishing out chips in a fast food restaurant? My life really couldn't get much lower right now. Still, better than collecting rubbish and being a street cleaner I guess)_

'Hold up! You two said _I_ can't get a pokemon if _he_ doesn't!' Gary butted into the argument, glaring at Oswin fiercely.

_(Now don't get this wrong. Things aren't usually like this. I mean, yeah, Mom's a total push-over, Dad's a short tempered bully, Alicia's a brat and Gary's a royal prick, but things aren't usually so heated. It was just my stubbornness to NOT go on a journey that was the cause of this, despite me not being the one in the wrong. And as for me and Gary, we even get on well… well, sometimes at least, very rarely maybe)_

'It's for your own sake Gary. If Oswin has a pokemon as well, you could look out for each other on a journey, I'm not sure sending you out alone is a good idea' Mildred said calmly, but Gary blew his top.

'WHAT?! SO BASICALLY, I CAN'T GO WITHOUT HIM!' Gary screamed in rage, but both their parents shook their heads. It was a good job too, for Gary looked about ready to just knock Oswin out and drag him along whilst unconscious. He wanted to go on a journey that much he actually would do that.

'No, you can still go. It's just if Oswin had a pokemon as well, you could have had back-up in the field if you ever needed it. But since your brother is so selfish I suppose you'll have to look out for yourself' Ivan spat in Oswin's direction. But Oswin's will wasn't weak in the slightest, and he merely rolled his eyes at his father's petty comment. As if _that_ would guilt-trip him into going. Something must have shown on his expression because soon enough Oswin's dad was snarling in the fifteen year old's face again.

'You're still getting a pokemon. Your grandfather put in a lot of effort to obtain those pokemon and I won't have your being disrespectful towards him for that. You _will_ accompany Gary to the lab, pick a pokemon, and then if you really are so lazy, go into town and find a job' Ivan stated and that closed the matter. Oswin glared at them all, but backed down, knowing he wouldn't be able to win.

_(Oh well, having a pokemon isn't so bad I guess. It'll only sit on my shelf inside its pokeball forever though)_

And so not half an hour later, Gary and Oswin left their house and began walking the winding path towards their Grandpa's lab for some Pokémon. Gary had his backpack on; Oswin had his hands thrown into his hoodie's pockets. They were bickering all the way there of course.

'I hope you're happy Gazz. Now _I'm_ getting lumbered with a pokemon I don't even want!' Oswin spat in his twin's direction.

'Oh give it a rest Oz. If you weren't such a stubborn dickhead anyway, you wouldn't have to go job hunting. But no, Mr Oswin Oak is too royal to go roughing it with everybody else, he'd rather stay up in our room, writing out notes for no-hope books all day' Gary shot back at him in response.

_(As you can see, my brother is a jerk just asking to be taken down a peg or two. And my books WILL take off one day. I already post on fiction websites on the internet and they are generally well received, so one day I'm sure I'll make it as a writer, I'm just not sure when exactly)_

The two teenagers bickered all the way to their Grandpa's lab, and by the time they rang the doorbell, they had been reduced to name-calling, only they weren't childish names, but rather more colourful things you wouldn't hear in civilized conversation.

'YOU FUCKING TWAT!' Gary yelled after Oswin told him _just_ how low he'd rank him as a trainer. Unfortunately for Gary, Professor Oak chose that exact moment to answer his door and let them in, and he had heard exactly what Gary had just called his twin brother.

'Gary Oak! How dare you use such disgraceful language! I've told you before, I won't have such uncivilized vulgar being used, not whilst you are at MY laboratory!' their Grandpa admonished him. Gary just sulked and Oswin glared angrily at the ground. Professor Oak frowned at them both, knowing that they were both extremely angry about something but he felt it better to not ask them directly what it was, not just yet. Those fifteen year olds could be a handful when they wanted to be.

'I suppose you're both here to collect yourselves some pokemon to begin your journeys' Professor Oak sighed after an uncomfortable pause. Gary and Oswin both nodded grumpily.

'He is, I'm here because Dad made me come' Oswin spat, still livid over the way his morning was turning out, jerking a thumb in Gary's direction.

_(This whole thing is just a waste of time. I could be at home, writing, but NO. I have to get a pokemon, and now a job which means **even less** time writing. But still, my only other choice was to go slumming it in the wild where they'd be nowhere safe to write, nowhere to charge my laptop, or post on my writer's blog. Not much of a choice)_

'Well I suppose you'd better come in boys. There is another trainer starting today, but he hasn't arrived yet, so we'll get on without him.' Professor Oak said wearily, showing his twin grandsons into his lab, like they didn't know their way around it. He was their Grandpa; they had been inside that lab thousands of times before.

The lab was modern, sleek, and dazzlingly white. The floor was covered with white tiles and many computers were running all around the walls. There was a flight of stairs in the far corner which lead up to their Grandpa's living quarters, and dozens of books and papers were littered about all over the place.

'You both have your Trainer Licences with you, don't you?' Professor Oak asked and both the boys nodded in unison. Despite not wanting to be a trainer, Ivan Oak had forced Oswin to take the test, which he had actually scraped a pass in, earning him a licence. Of course Gary had scored better in it, which he had gleefully rubbed in Oswin's face, as if Oswin cared. Oswin's was in his back pocket, Gary's in his backpack.

'So where are the pokemon?' Gary asked greedily and Oswin rolled his eyes.

_(Honestly, my brother is such a spoiled brat! What good is being a trainer anyway? He could hardly put it on a CV. 'Oh yeah, I don't have any skills for working in this office but I can train a pokemon to fight other pokemon'… yeah, whoopdey-fucking-doo!)_

'Right over here on this table' Professor Oak led them to a table in the back of the lab with two red and white pokeballs upon it.

'I thought you said there was another trainer starting today?' Oswin frowned when he counted only two pokeballs.

_(Ha! Maybe I can get out of this yet! If the other trainer needs one and I don't, maybe Grandpa will just give the pokemon to the other guy! Up your arsehole dad!)_

'Actually there are four trainers starting today. One of them already took the Charmander I had here, but I've got some other pokemon to give out, besides the two here' Professor Oak assured Oswin, who growled in annoyance, having been afraid of that.

_(OK, maybe I won't get off the hook then… oh well, it was a nice try)_

'Yeah, whatever… are either of them a Squirtle?' Gary butted in again, eager to get his starter and get his journey started already. He'd already had to wait five extra years god damn it, he wanted to get a move on!

'The one with a water-droplet shaped sticker on it' Professor Oak frowned at Gary's bluntness, shaking his head a little. Gary eagerly snatched up the pokeball with the blue sticker on it, leaving Oswin with the one with a green leaf shaped sticker.

'And I guess that means you're having the Bulbasaur Oswin' Professor Oak told him kindly as Oswin picked up the remaining pokeball.

_(Hooray…NOT! What the bloody hell was I supposed to do with this thing anyway?!)_

'Thank you Grandpa' Oswin muttered begrudgingly, not wanting to appear rude and ungrateful despite the fact he didn't even WANT the blasted creature, which Oswin actually had no idea about. He vaguely recognised the name Bulbasaur, but having never really studied pokemon very much, had little idea about any species to be honest.

'Now that we both have our pokemon, there's something I've wanted to say for _years_' Gary exclaimed and Professor Oak and Oswin both turned to face him, both wondering what he'd come out with this time. Gary pointed his finger at Oswin, rather dramatically in Oswin's humble opinion.

_(This can't mean anything good)_

'Oz, I challenge you to a battle!' Gary yelled gleefully and Oswin scowled darkly.

_(Yeah, totally not good)_

'You can't be serious, I mean… I'm not even a trainer!' Oswin reminded him. But Gary just shook his head, a smirk tugging at his lips.

'You have a pokemon, you have a licence, that makes you a trainer, and you can't refuse a battle' Gary said in a smart-alecky way that had Oswin scowling.

'You know Oswin, he's actually right, with that Trainer Licence and a Pokémon, you actually can't refuse or the league could fine you' Professor Oak informed him neutrally.

_(What?! That's outrageous! It's not fair! It's… It's…)_

'You're kidding?! You mean I have to battle anyone that challenges me?!' Oswin exclaimed with wide eyes. He hadn't even wanted to be a trainer! Never mind having to battle a load of puny kids like bug catchers and who knew what else! This day couldn't get much worse!

'No, I'm being completely serious. And yes you will have to battle anyone that challenges you. You don't have any choice unless you want fining' Professor Oak told him in all seriousness and Oswin deflated.

'Now enough stalling! Let's get on with this!' Gary cried happily, and before anyone could stop him, the brunette threw his new pokemon's pokeball through the air and out of a red beam of digitized energy formed a pokemon.

It was bright blue in colour, and wearing a half yellow and half brown sort of shell around most of its body. It had a long flowing tail which popped out from behind it, and it looked up at Gary with great interest.

'Hey Squirtle, I'm your new trainer Gary, and we've got a battle so let's start as we mean to go on!' Gary cried and Squirtle let out a cheer, although whether it was because he now had a trainer or because he had a battle was unclear.

Oswin frowned slightly, but if he could actually get fined over refusing, he supposed he had no choice in the matter. He wasn't about to throw money away over something so petty after all.

'Come on out!' he shouted, pressing the button on his own pokeball and causing another small creature to appear within the lab. This one was a small dinosaur like creature, blue in colour with darker blue markings, and with a lush green bulb sprouting from its back. It yawned slightly, revealing short fangs, before turning its attention onto its new trainer. The Bulbasaur did not look at Oswin very appreciatively. If fact, the Bulbasaur snorted, as if Oswin wasn't good enough for it.

_(That was rude. Does that Bulbasaur not like me? Well it's not like it matters, it'll only be locked up in its pokeball all the time anyway)_

'Bulbasaur, I'm your… trainer I suppose, not that I want to be, but either way, you're my partner and we have to battle that Squirtle' Oswin said quickly, but the Bulbasaur merely glared at him, even going as far as to growl at him. It obviously didn't like Oswin one bit.

'Bulbasaur' _(He looks like a right idiot, why did I get stuck with him anyway)_ the Bulbasaur thought to itself.

Professor Oak meanwhile was rolling his eyes, frowning slightly, no doubt unhappy about the fact that a battle was about to occur in his place of work.

'Oh, for Pete's sake! So pushy, as always… you could have at least taken it outside! Oh well… Oswin, Gary, neither of you have had a battle before, so both of you need to listen to this. A pokemon battle is when trainers pit their pokemon against each other. The trainer that makes the other trainer's pokemon faint by lowering their HP to zero wins. But rather than talking about it, you'll learn more from experience. Try battling and see for yourself' the old man gestured for them to continue their little squabble and get it over with, so that he could get back to more important matters.

'Right… since the pokemon that Gramps gives away here are only level 5, that means you'll only have your basic attacks, so use Tackle!' Oswin cried, remembering that much from the little training he had actually paid any attention too.

'Bulb' the Bulbasaur growled. _(If I really must)_

Bulbasaur dashed forwards on its little legs and slammed itself into Squirtle, who yelped in surprise, rolling back towards Gary, an anxious expression covering its face.

'As you can see, inflicting damage on the foe is the key to any battle' Professor Oak put in wisely from his position on the sidelines.

'Squirtle, you don't have to take that from that Bulbasaur, so you use Tackle as well!' Gary cried, and Squirtle, still looking a little nervous, this being its first battle after all, summoned its courage and ran at Bulbasaur, this time knocking it back towards Oswin.

'Bulba!' (OK small fry… Take this!) Without even waiting for an order, Bulbasaur darted forwards and actually _bit_ the Squirtle. Oswin was left gaping.

'Err… Bulbasaur can't use Bite can they?' he asked, honestly not sure. Professor Oak frowned thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his thumb.

'Usually not but that wasn't a legitimate Bite attack. That Bulbasaur has a rather short temper and is prone to viciously attacking when angered. You should watch yourself around it Oswin' Professor Oak commented.

_(Great, something that will bite me when it's pissed off. Why did I have to get stuck with this overgrown weed anyway?)_

'Throw it off Squirtle, then use Tackle' Gary ordered. Squirtle, whose arm felt like it was about to start bleeding, span its arm around and managed to throw the enraged Bulbasaur off, before he tackled it head on.

'Bulbasaur, Tackle again! Keep using it and get this over with!' Oswin commanded, sick of this battling debacle already and wanting to be done with it.

'Saur' _(As if I need **you** to tell **me** how to fight, idiot)_ the Bulbasaur spat. It listened regardless and charged at the Squirtle, and with one good Tackle right to the face that sent Squirtle flying back, the water pokemon was finally taken down.

'NO! Squirtle!' Gary cried in horror, scooping up the unconscious water pokemon into his arms.

_(We actually won… oho! Gary's gonna love that!)_

'You cheater, that Bulbasaur's feral! It _bit_ my Squirtle! I knew you'd cheat!' Gary yelled and Oswin glared at him.

'Excuse me, I didn't order Bulbasaur to bite Squirtle, and you're such a child, whining because you lost. You should get used to it, seeing as you'll be doing that quite a lot' Oswin snapped at him.

'WHAT DID YOU SAY?!' Gary snarled; spit flying from his mouth in outrage.

'Calm down you two! Gary, go restore your Squirtle in the Pokémon Restorer. Oswin, return your Bulbasaur and cool your temper' Professor Oak commanded and both boys, sulking, did as he ordered.

'Err… good job Bulbasaur, return for now' Oswin decided to praise his pokemon, who merely rolled its eyes at him before being returned to its pokeball.

Gary meanwhile had returned his Squirtle and had placed its pokeball on a large contraption in the corner of the lab. He pulled a lever and the pokeball glowed brightly for a moment, indicating that Squirtle's HP points had been restored.

'Now all that's left to do is to…' Professor Oak started before a loud yell from outside grabbed their attention.

'STOP! WAIT! DON'T START WITHOUT ME! I'M HERE TO GET MY POKÉMON!' a very familiar voice yelled from some distance away. It was getting closer to them though, that much they were sure of.

'Oh no' Oswin sighed, shaking his head despairingly, recognising that voice instantly.

_(The owner of that voice is a complete and utter moron going by the name of Ash Ketchum. I'd be surprised if he'll even survive getting to the next town. I'd be willing to bet good money that his mother dropped him on his head at birth)_

'Perfect, time to go rub it in Ashy-boy's face' Gary smirked in dark amusement. He immediately headed towards the door, gleefully at that. Gary never could resist showing off in front of Ash, making Oswin often wonder if Gary had some kind of crush on him. Like he was trying to show Ash just how great he was or something, and how amazing it would be to be with him. Oswin snorted at the thought of how their father would take it if Gary actually went out with Ash.

'Rub _what_ in his face?' Oswin demanded as he followed Gary towards the door. Not wanting any _more_ hostility to break out, since he was getting quite a headache, Professor Oak also followed the young boys out. They emerged to see a blur coming towards them, a certain raven-haired fifteen year old, oddly wearing just a T-shirt and his boxers, running towards them at full pelt.

'Err… interesting attire' Oswin commented, sweat-dropping like the other two. Moments later, the blur skidded to a stop in front of them, crashing into Gary and falling flat on his face.

'Hey! Watch where you're going!' Gary protested, roughly shoving the raven haired boy off of him, regaining his footing in the process.

'Running a little late Ash?' Oswin giggled slightly as he asked with mock interest. He did like Ash, he was a decent enough guy, but teasing him was just too much fun, plus Ash could be a little too big headed a lot of the time. He sometimes needed taking down a peg or two, and that was where Gary usually came in.

'Better late than never though Oz' Gary snidely commented from his side.

'But then again, it least he gets the chance to see some _real_ trainers go on their way' Oswin said softly, causing Ash to scowl and Gary to laugh loudly. Oswin didn't count himself as a trainer, but Ash didn't need to know that, plus it was always good fun winding him up so much.

'A real trainer? Gary?' Ash wondered aloud, clearly shocked by the very prospect.

'Mr Gary to you! Show some respect!' Gary snipped sharply at him. Oswin sniggered slightly as Ash's face turned redder and redder with fury.

'Too bad for you Ash, the snoozing Snorlax misses the snacks, or in this case the pokemon' Oswin told him, amusement dancing in his eyes. Ash just looked at him in confusion.

_(Ok, so I don't want this pokemon or to go on a journey, we've establish that. But just because I don't actually want this mean little dinosaur to accompany me doesn't mean I can't rub it in Ash's face about the fact that I at least have a pokemon, no matter how begrudgingly, and he doesn't)_

'Oz's right! You're way behind right from the start! We both have our pokemon, and you don't!' Gary took great pleasure in rubbing that little detail in Ash's face. Oswin suddenly remembered that _he_ had taken the final official starter pokemon, and couldn't help but wonder what type of pokemon Ash would end up with because of that.

_(Ha! I bet he couldn't even train a simple Pidgey or Rattata!)_

'You've… both got your first pokemon?' Ash asked incredulously.

'That's right loser! And they're right inside these pokeballs' Gary smirked as he span the pokeball with his Squirtle inside on his finger like a basketball player, whilst Oswin merely held Bulbasaur's pokeball up for Ash to see.

'And now, Oswin Oak, Professor Oak, I am setting out into the great pokemon world to learn the art of the Pokémon Trainer. I shall not return until I've become the Champion of Kanto!' Gary declared pompously, making Professor Oak frown at him and Oswin gap and shake his head.

_(Oh for goodness sake! You'd think he'd just won the league already. Still, that's Gary for ya, that's my irritating twin I suppose I love, even if just a little bit)_

'Excuse me? I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of Pokémon you both got' Ash interrupted Gary's moment, something Oswin was very thankful for. Oswin went to open his mouth to reply to Ash's query, but Gary spoke up before he had a chance, which naturally made Oswin scowl.

'None of your business! If you had shown up on time, you would have seen that _I_ got the best pokemon from Professor Oak. It's good to have a grandpa in the pokemon business, isn't it?' Gary told him nastily.

_(The best pokemon?! Ha! I beat that Squirtle and I'm not even a real trainer!)_

'Excuse me. Who was it that won that battle?' Oswin asked tartly, arching an eyebrow at his brother. Gary flushed slightly and muttered darkly to himself.

'You already had a battle?!' Ash yelped, realising _just_ how late he really was.

'Yes we did. And I don't have time to be wasting here with you! I need to make my pokemon battle to toughen it up! Gramps, thanks for everything! Oz, Ashy-boy, smell you later' Gary sniggered before he took off down the path at a run and was out of sight within seconds.

'Err… well I suppose _I_ had better start job hunting' Oz muttered to himself. He turned to his Grandpa to say goodbye, but Professor Oak placed a hand on his shoulder before any words could even form in his mouth.

'Oswin, I'd like for you to stay a few moments, if you don't mind. There's something I'd like to talk to you about' the professor requested, and surprised, Oswin found himself nodding.

_(Oh well, I suppose job hunting can wait a bit longer. I have all day after all)_

'EXCUSE ME! PLEASE CAN I HAVE MY POKÉMON NOW!' Ash yelled to remind them of his presence.

Professor Oak and Oswin shared a grim look, before they re-entered the lab, leading Ash inside. Oswin sat down on a chair by one of the desks, watching as Professor Oak led Ash over to the empty table. He couldn't help but snigger behind his hand when he realised what his grandpa had planned to teach Ash a valuable lesson.

_(HA! Serves Ash right for not turning up on time!)_

Professor Oak brought three pokeballs from his pocket, which were no doubt just empty pokeballs, and set them down on the table. Ash looked at them all gleefully.

'It was a hard choice, but I've finally decided. My starter will be… Squirtle!' Ash cried, grabbing one of the pokeballs and pushing the button it, expecting a pokemon to appear. Instead, the pokeball merely snapped open, with no pokemon being released. Ash sagged slightly in disappointment.

Oswin was almost breaking a rib as he strained not to laugh out loud.

_(Just wait until he finds out that it was Gary that picked the Squirtle first!)_

'The Squirtle that was on offer here today was already taken, by a trainer that showed up on time' Professor Oak said, but the words were lost on Ash, who was already grabbing another pokeball, eagerness written all over his face.

'That's ok, as my second choice… I choose Charmander!' Ash yelled, once again pushing the button on another pokeball, only to sigh when he found that it was also empty.

'The early bird catches the worm, or in this case, the pokemon' Professor Oak smirked slightly, clearly enjoying himself.

'That's fine. It seems that my starter will be… Bulbasaur!' Ash shouted dramatically, grabbing the final pokeball, opening it, only to cry out in annoyance when he found it was empty also.

'Sorry Ash, but I got there before you!' Oswin chipped in cheerfully, holding up the pokeball with the Bulbasaur inside.

_(At least having this angry little Bulbasaur is good for something, even if it's just annoying Ash. Still… that makes it worth it, somewhat anyway)_

'So all the pokemon are gone?' Ash asked, deflated, and Professor Oak decided to put him out of his misery. Misery was a good teacher, and Professor Oak would sure Ash would remember to always be on time from here on out.

'Well, there is one more Pokémon, but there's a problem with it' Professor Oak began uncertainly. Ash immediately brightened up again, his hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master returning in a beat.

'That's ok; I just need a Pokémon today! I just _have_ to have one!' Ash declared and Oswin rolled his eyes irritably.

_(That boy is obsessed with Pokemon! It's probably a good thing that they made us all wait another five years. If Ash had started a ten, he'd either be dead by now due to stupidity, or the worst champion Kanto has ever seen and the country would be in disrepair by now)_

'Well, in that case, I suppose you may have this final pokemon' Professor Oak sighed, clearly going against his better judgement. He dug around in his pocket and brought out one final pokeball. This one had a yellow lightning bolt sticker on it. He handed it to Ash, who gleefully opened it. This time a pokemon actually materialised before them, and Oswin frowned down at the creature.

It was a small yellow pokemon with black tipped eyes, pink cheeks, with brown markings running up and down its body and it had a lightning bolt shaped tail. It was kind of cute, despite being a rodent, but the way it was looking at Ash; it was the same way Bulbasaur had looked at Oswin.

'Oh wow, it's the best one of all!' Ash looked at the pokemon in delight.

'Its name is Pikachu' Professor Oak explained, just as Ash made the fatal mistake of picking the pokemon, Pikachu, up and hugging it. The Pikachu gave a shrill yell at being touched without invitation, and moments later Ash was flashing black and white as volts of electricity racked over his body. He fell to the floor, shaking and moaning, and the Pikachu landed on top of him, clearly amused by its handy work.

Oswin burst out laughing, clutching at his sides as he rolled around in his chair.

'Oho! Ahahahaha! Oh, that was perfect! Hahahaha! I really like that Pikachu! It's got a flare for style!' Oswin was crying he was laughing so hard. Professor Oak, whilst clearly amused, sent his grandson a look that clearly told him to stop laughing, and so trying not to break a rip in the process, Oswin managed to regain control of himself, just as Ash managed to push himself back to his feet, jerking slightly as small bursts of static still flickered across his flesh randomly.

'Oh…that hurt' Ash whined to himself pitifully.

'Now Ash I think that's everything you wanted. I take it you have your trainer's licence with you?' Professor Oak asked and Ash clapped a hand to his forehead, a stunned look crossing his features.

'I completely forgot!' he cried in alarm.

'You'd better go home and get it then! You won't be able to carry any new pokemon without it' Professor Oak warned him.

'Right, thanks for the Pikachu Professor Oak! Return!' Ash cried and Pikachu, a very sour expression on its face, was called back into his pokeball. Ash span on the spot and made a bee-line for the door, clearly intent on going home to get his trainer's licence.

'Thankfully that got rid of him… that boy means well, but if he doesn't pull his act together, he's headed straight for trouble' Professor Oak shook his head, before he let out a sigh, and went and pulled up a chair opposite Oswin.

Oswin fidgeted slightly. The look his grandpa was giving him was putting him on edge, and he didn't like it one bit.

_(Grandpa always has been really good at reading me, which can be problematic at times, especially when I don't want anyone to know what I'm thinking or feeling)_

'Now, what's this I hear about you needing a job Oswin?' the old man asked gently and Oswin's eyes snapped up to meet his.

'Mom phoned you?' he guessed and the professor nodded. Oswin sighed, deflating slightly.

'I don't want to go on a journey, but Dad just refuses to accept that. He basically gave me a decision; I either go on a journey, get kicked out onto the streets, or get a job so I can pay rent. I'm picking the job and paying rent' Oswin explained miserably. He didn't mind getting a job, it was just he wasn't looking forward to dishing out fries in fast food restaurants.

'Hum… and may I ask you _why_ you don't want to go on a journey? Most people love to train pokemon' Professor Oak arched a curious eyebrow at the young teenager, but Oswin merely shrugged.

'I'm not most people. I just… don't see it leading anywhere. Writing is my passion, but _no_, dad _always_ has to know best… the rotten little–' Oswin began but Professor Oak quickly cut him off.

'Hey! Don't talk about your father in that way young man' he said abruptly and Oswin fell silent, looking at the floor, if only so that Professor Oak wouldn't see him muttering dark insults about his father to himself. Despite knowing how harsh his son could be, Professor Oak didn't want to hear his grandson talking about his son, the boy's own father, in such an offensive and rude manner.

'So you need a job… perhaps I can help with that' Professor Oak said after an awkward pause and Oswin looked up at him sharply.

'How?' Oswin demanded instantly, confusion riddling his face.

'I need an assistant. I'm getting old and as you can see, my book-keeping is a mess' the old man said, gesturing around at the books strewn across the floor and the papers covering tables everywhere. They certainly were a mess alright; he was not lying about that.

'So what, I'd be your cleaner?' Oswin arched an eyebrow. A cleaner? Surely he could amount to something a little better than that. Even dishing out fries would be better than that!

'No, I said you'd be my assistant. You'd help me with my research, help me run the grounds here, do paperwork for me, answer my phone and manage my schedule, and go on assignments too. All paid work of course. I'm sure that would suffice your father's desire for you to have a job' Professor Oak stated and Oswin frowned, weighing up his options.

_(On the one hand, it's perfect. I'll be at home, able to work on my books, and still be able to pay dad… on the other, I'd have to go on assignments… but what does that even mean?)_

'What sort of assignments?' he eventually asked and Professor Oak's smile widened, clearly thinking he was getting Oswin on side. Oswin didn't like that smile one bit. It meant trouble… for him.

'Oh, just little easy tasks, things I'm too busy to go do myself' he smiled illusively. Oswin frowned, not liking his tone. Still, it was either this, or flipping burgers.

'OK. I suppose being your assistant counts as a job. Thanks Grandpa' Oswin said eventually in a slow but grateful voice and Professor Oak grinned, having won in the matter.

'Perfect! Now, as your first assignment, I need you to pick something up for me. I was going to ask you to do it anyway, but since I'm your employer now, I can just officially order you to do it' Professor Oak smirked and Oswin suddenly felt as if he had just signed his life away.

_(What have I just agreed too?!)_

'Somehow I don't like the sound of this… is to too late to resign?' Oswin gulped nervously.

'Yes it is! Now, I have a delivery from Celadon City arriving, but they'll only deliver to Pokemarts, so it's at for the Pokemart in Viridian City as Pallet Town doesn't have one. I need you to go there for me and pick it up. I'll write your contract out whilst you're gone. You'd better get going if you want to get back before it gets dark. I'll be knocking money off your wages the longer it takes you' Professor Oak told him playfully and Oswin let out a defeated sigh.

_(Yeah, I knew there was a very good reason I was dreading this day arriving)_

…

'I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME BACK IN THIS HOUSE UNLESS YOU FOUND YOURSELF A JOB' Oswin's father roared as soon as Oswin stepped through the front door of his house. Oswin slammed it shut as loudly as he could as his father stomped over to him, towering over Oswin and silently demanding the boy explain himself.

'Now Ivan-' Mildred began but Ivan shouted over her.

'No Mildred! The boy's becoming a lazy-' Ivan began loudly but Oswin had finally had enough. He was NOT in the mood to find out exactly _what_ he was supposedly becoming either.

'Stop yelling and listen for once in your life! I _have_ found a job and I need to go to Viridian City for something because it. _That's_ why I'm here, to get my stuff for the trip, alright?!' Oswin snapped and without waiting for an answer, Oswin side-stepped his angry father and headed for the stairs.

Heading into his room, Oswin quickly snatched up his large black side-bag, some clothes and money, before his eyes landed on his computer. He knew that his mother had stored a Potion inside it for him in case he ever changed his mind about becoming a trainer. It was a marvel of modern science, being able to digitize items and store them away inside a computer. It was similar to the way pokeballs stored pokemon as energy signature when being carried around by trainers.

Oswin shrugged to himself. He might need to battle pokemon on Route 1 in order to get to Viridian City, and if he didn't want to fail this assignment (which he actually didn't seeing as he wouldn't get paid and perhaps even fired for), he might need that potion at some point. Oswin withdrew the potion, causing it to take on a physical form again as it emerged from the screen, and he stored it in his large black bag, along with his Trainer licence, his clothes and his spending money. Whilst in Viridian he might as well buy anything he wanted if he saw anything he liked and could afford it.

With the Bulbasaur's pokeball clipped to his belt, Oswin went back downstairs, and left without another word to his stunned parents or Alicia. It was obvious that none of them had actually expected him to find a job so soon; although Mildred had a sneaky suspicious she knew who had given Oswin his new job. If it _was_ him, she'd be eternally grateful for her father-in-law doing that for her young son.

Walking down the path out of Pallet Town and into Route 1, it wasn't look before Oswin ran into someone, or more accurately, _something_. A small brown bird with cream coloured feathers covering his belly and wings to be precise. It was snapping its pink beck at Oswin, its sharp eyes glaring at him. It was a Pidgey, but it was only at level 2, which Oswin was grateful for seeing as he only had a Bulbasaur, a grass type, which were weak against Pidgey, a flying type. Even Oswin knew that one!

'You're not going to let us past are you?' Oswin sighed and the Pidgey, who was flapping its wings to stay airborne and in Oswin's way, shook its head furiously. Oswin let out a sigh.

'Fine, have it your way. Bulbasaur, take out that Pidgey!' Oswin cried, letting his Bulbasaur out.

'Bulb' _(Must you be so bossy human?)_ Bulbasaur muttered but charged at the Pidgey, trying to Tackle it but the Pidgey effortlessly dodged around it by flying up higher. It countered with its own Tackle, but due to it being a lower levelled pokemon, Bulbasaur was barely affected by it.

'Tackle again!' Oswin cried, and this time Bulbasaur managed to hit it, eliciting a squawk of surprise from the tiny bird pokemon. Pidgey tried its Tackle again, but it barely did anything to Bulbasaur, and with one more Tackle, the Grass pokemon claimed victory over the Flying pokemon. The Pidgey squawked loudly once more, before it hit the ground, having fainted. Oswin knew enough about the pokemon world to know that the Pidgey would be ok in a few minutes. Trainers often knocked out wild pokemon to train their own, but usually the wild pokemon would be up and about again in no time. So casting it out of his mind, Oswin continued walking, his Bulbasaur reluctantly following after him.

_(You know, that wasn't half bad… still, it's not writing and that all I really want to do with my life)_

They were just passing a natural sort of ledge, a barrier to most trainers that they simply walked around (Or jumped down when heading in the other direction) when a thought struck Oswin and he turned to look down at the Bulbasaur, stopping as he did so.

'I just thought of something' he announced and the Bulbasaur stopped, glaring up at him.

'Bulba' _(Fantastic, I'll alert the media… I human brat actually has a brain to think with, it's a scientific breakthrough)_ the Bulbasaur thought sarcastically to itself.

'Most people give their pokemon nicknames… so I was thinking, do you want one?' Oswin asked and the Bulbasaur frowned, deep in thought, before it slowly nodded. Oswin put his thumb under his chin, trying to think of a suitable name.

'How about, Forest?' he asked and the Bulbasaur immediately narrowed its eyes, shaking its head. Oswin sighed.

'Leafy?' another shake.

'Jungle? A glare.

'Leaf-muncher?' this time the Bulbasaur actually bit Oswin's ankle.

'Ow! Hey! What's wrong with those names?' Oswin asked indignantly, rubbing at the sore spot on his ankle.

_(Ungrateful little whelp! The wretched thing is lucky it's getting a name at all! If I had it my way, it'd be locked up inside its pokeball twenty-four/seven… in fact, I can still arrange that)_

'Bulbasaur!' _(They're all masculine!)_ Bulbasaur snapped at him. Oswin frowned, trying to understand, before another thought came to him.

'Wait a minute. You _are_ a guy aren't you?' he asked and the Bulbasaur glared at him, shaking its… _her_… head.

'You're a girl?!' Oswin gaped. He may not know a lot about Pokémon, but he knew that female Bulbasaur were a lot rarer than male Bulbasaur.

The Bulbasaur nodded her head angrily, insulted that Oswin had not seen that immediately.

_(Typical, so now I'm going to have to put up with this thing's every 'time of the month'… terrific, as if this couldn't get any worse, she's already foul enough. Plus, I get all that fun girly attitude to look forward to, perfect!)_

'Ok… so a girly nickname… Flower?' he asked and he was met with another shake of the head.

'Petal?' another glare.

'Lily?' a snarl.

'How about Thorn? As in 'The Thorn in my side'?' Oswin said sarcastically and the Bulbasaur tried to bite him again, but Oswin side-stepped it. He had only meant that one as a joke anyway.

'Daisy… no wait, my sister's called Daisy, and with her inflated ego, I'm not naming a pokemon after her… how about Pansy?' Oswin asked and this time Bulbasaur tried to Tackle him. Oswin yelped and jumped out of her way, barely dodging her attack.

'OK! Not Pansy! How about, Violet?' a roar of anger.

'Petunia?' Oswin cried desperately, only to be met with a snarl.

'Well how about Rose?' he eventually asked and the angry look on the Bulbasaur's face morphed into a look of intense thought. Oswin wondered what the problem was, before finally, much to Oswin's relief, the Bulbasaur nodded, accepting the name Rose as being acceptable.

'Rose huh?' Ok, from now on, your name will be Rose' Oswin said, glad that that little episode was over and that they could all get on with their lives.

'Bulbasaur' _(And from now on, I'm only going to call you Moron… fancy not seeing that I'm a girl! I swear I got lumped with the lousiest trainer ever!)_

'Right then, _Rose_, return for now, we need to get to Viridian and back before nightfall' Oswin stated, recalling a scowling Rose back into her pokeball so he could make quicker time due to him not being a little short-arse like she was.

He was just heading further up Route 1 when he bumped into a middle-aged man wearing a sort of uniform, the sort a shop worker would wear. Oswin was about to sneak past, fearing he would challenge Oswin to a battle, when the man spotted him and grinned.

'Hi there!' he grinned, waving Oswin over. Oswin sagged slightly, not wanting to battle and risk losing half his money. Those were the rules in battle. If you lost, you handed over half the money you had on your person. The rest was stored in your trainer account which the League set up for every trainer that earned a licence. Oswin hadn't had his decommissioned yet, and now that he was an Official Lab assistant, he probably wouldn't be allowed to. His Grandpa needed a way to pay him after all. If you had no money on you, the League would take a reasonable money out of your account and transfer it to your opponent's if they beat you. Either way, there was no getting out of paying what you owed due to a battle. Most trainers didn't even carry money anymore, preferring to get let the automatic process organise their funds for them.

'Hello' Oswin said cautiously, wondering if he might still be able to escape this situation with his bank balance intact.

'Hi! I work at the Pokemart in Viridian City! It's part of a convenient chain selling all sorts of items. Please, visit us in Viridian City. I know! I'll give you a sample! Here you go!' the man said gleefully, and before Oswin could even get a word in, like explaining that he was actually heading for the Pokemart in Viridian City anyway, the man shoved a Potion into Oswin's hand.

_(Huh? This guy's obvious trying to get me to bribe me into buy stuff when I visit the Pokemart… still, free samples are free samples)_

'Thanks a lot… I'm heading to Viridian City anyway, I'll make sure I drop by the Pokemart' Oswin grinned and the man's face lit up.

'Oh thank you! A new customer!' the man grinned and Oswin inwardly smirked. He said he would _visit_ the Pokemart… not that he'd _buy_ anything whilst there. Thanking the man again, Oswin set off again. As he went, he heard the man commenting aloud to himself.

'Ha, I got a new customer for the shop! That means a little bonus in my wages this month!' the man said happily and Oswin snorted to himself but he didn't turn back to reply to that. Instead he just put the potion in his bag and continued on his way.

Other than meeting a level 3 Rattata and a level 2 Rattata, some purple rodents with large bucked teeth that were fairly common pokemon, and using one of his Potions on Rose after she beat them both effortlessly(Growing to Level 6 in the process), not much else happened as Oswin headed towards Viridian City. He met a teenage girl roughly the same age as him with bright orange hair that was fishing in the river than ran from Pallet Town to Viridian City. When she spotted him she immediately challenged him to a battle. Oswin effortlessly beat her Staryu with Rose, and he was off again after collecting his winnings. He didn't catch the girl's name though, but she seemed pretty annoyed by her loss during the battle, either that or by the loss of her money.

It was late afternoon by the time Oswin reached the last clump of grass, but he finally emerged from Route 1and into the sprawling town that was Viridian City. Beaming in delight, Oswin took in the sights of the small town. He knew that places like Pewter, Celadon and Saffron were much bigger, but compared to Pallet Town, Viridian was huge. Big office blocks, large two storey houses, warehouses and schools, parks and walkways, Oswin was grinning in delight. He had never ventured into Viridian City before, and he had never known it was so… busy!

'Right… Pokemart, Pokemart… where's the Pokemart?' Oswin wondered to himself aloud as he looked around at everything. From his position on the slight hill-top he was standing on, he could see most of the city from up there.

_(What did Grandpa say about them? I'm sure he mentioned them at least once in one of his lessons… I think he said they have green roofs… or maybe it was blue roofs… yeah, definitely blue roofs… hey! That building has a blue roof!)_

Having spotted a small building that fit the criteria of what he was searching for, Oswin took off down the hill, running all the way, enjoying the feeling of the breeze washing through his hair and clothes as he sprinted towards the big city.

Navigating his way through the streets proved to be a little tougher than he had envisioned. Dozens of people were bustling about all over the place, and even hundreds of wild and even captured pokemon could be spotted milling about if you paid attention to them, going about their business peacefully.

Thankfully Oswin managed to reach the blue roofed building without any trouble, and by trouble he meant a challenge for a battle. He was delighted to find a sign outside the building that read 'Viridian City Pokemart' in block capitals.

_(Cool! Now let's get that package and get home before the day is done!)_

Pushing open the glass door, Oswin looked around curiously. There were many shelves full of various pokemon related items, but most of them were just Pokeballs, Potions, Repels and even Escape Ropes. There were also a few people looking around, looking at the merchandise, including a boy wearing a yellow cap and shorts, your typical young trainer, and a girl in a pink dress with brown pigtails.

Oswin knew that trainers were often supposed to be social with other trainers, as it was a useful way of sharing information, but Oswin wasn't a trainer, he refused to be. But still, he decided to talk to them, just in case anything they had to say turned out to be helpful for him to know later. He approached the girl first, and when she spotted him, she immediately began talking before Oswin could even get a word in.

'This shop does good business in Antidote I've heard' she announced and Oswin blinked.

_(So much for small talk and introductions… I guess all trainers must be quite blunt as they're usually really busy)_

'Really… Antidotes are for curing Poisoned pokemon are they?' Oswin asked unsurely and the girl nodded at him in confirmation.

'That's right, the reason Viridian does so well in selling them is because trainers buy them when heading out into Viridian Forest, which is crawling with bug pokemon like Weedle' the girl explained, before she turned back to the shelves, trying to decide how many Antidotes she wanted to buy.

Storing that information away in the back of his mind in the event he needed to know that, Oswin manoeuvred his way through the shop and approached the boy instead. He was examining Potions, but looked up as Oswin approached him.

'I've got to buy some potions!' he cried anxiously and Oswin frowned.

_(Well… that's great kid… and why exactly are you telling **me** this?)_

'Err… why?' Oswin asked unsurely.

'It's obvious isn't it?! You never know when your pokemon will need quick healing' the boy said, looking at Oswin as if he was an idiot for not knowing that. Oswin frowned at his tone, but decided to help the guy out.

'Well… just so you know, there's a guy out on Route 1 giving out free samples. He gave me a Potion. Maybe if you just don't mention you already shop here, he'll give you one too to entice you to come and buy things here' Oswin whispered in his ear so that none of the clerks of the shop heard him. The trainer looked at him with wide eyes.

'Thanks mate' he whispered back, before he set down the Potion he was about to buy and walked out of the shop, no doubt heading to Route 1 in the hopes of a free potion. Smiling, his semi-good deed done for the day, Oswin headed towards the counter.

'Excuse me, I'm here to pick up a package for Professor Oak' he announced to the clerk sitting behind the counter. The man frowned slightly, snapping back to reality. It was obvious that he had been having a daydream, but in the end he looked up at Oswin and smiled warmly.

'Oh Hey! You came from Pallet Town? You must know Professor Oak, right? His order came in. Can I get you to take it too him?' the clerk asked and Oswin blinked, his face shocked.

_(I just said I was here to collect it! Why is he asking me to take it to him… or was he just not listening… no, if he wasn't listening than how did he know I'm from Pallet Town… this guy's a dickhead!)_

'Yeah… I just said I'm here to pick the package up' Oswin said coldly and the man's smile faltered slightly.

'Oh yeah… you did' he mumbled embarrassedly. Clearly he had been too caught up in his daydream to pay much attention to what Oswin had actually said. He reached under the counter and pulled out a lumpy package that was wrapped in brown paper and tied with white string. He handed it to Oswin who carefully stowed it away in his bag.

'I'll make sure it arrives unharmed' Oswin said stiffly, still a little miffed by the way the clerk had practically ignored what he had just said. The clerk beamed at him.

'Okay, thanks! Please say Hi to Professor Oak for me too' he said dreamily, before he propped his head on his elbows again and returned to his daydream. Oswin gaped at him for his actions, before he scowled and stomped out of the store without another word to any of them.

'What a wanker!' he cried as soon as he was outside. An elderly man passing him gaped at him for his choice of words, and was about to rebuke him for them, but Oswin stalked off before the man could even stop spluttering.

With the fruits of his labour securely in his bag, Oswin headed back down through Viridian City, a little disappointed that he hadn't managed to look around a little more. But the evening was drawing in and Oswin needed to get back in time to return home before nightfall. Despite having brought some clothes with him, Oswin didn't want to rough it by sleeping on the ground. He didn't even have a sleeping bag or a tent after all, so he quickly took off through Route 1 before night could fall.

He was about a quarter of the way along Route 1 when thunder clouds began rolling in and it started to rain, heavily.

_(Perfect, catching a cold is just what I need, especially on the first day on this new job!)_

Oswin pulled up the hood of his hoodie to avoid getting the rain in his face, and he began running even faster, slipping and sliding around in the mud and on the wet grass. Suddenly the angry cries of pokemon filled his ears and frowning, Oswin's mouth dropped open at the sight before him.

Ash Ketchum was riding on a bike, his Pikachu on the handle bars, being chased by a _flock_ of furious looking Spearow.

'What the hell?!' Oswin cried as Ash steered the bike around him without even slowing down. Oswin frowned after him for a moment, before he remembered the Spearow. He threw himself to the ground and thankfully the Spearow ignored him, opting to keep pursuing Ash instead.

_(I wonder why those Spearow are so mad at him… actually I can easily guess. I'm willing to bet that Ash tried, and failed, to catch one and they got pissed off at him… what a prat! Who tries catching a singular pokemon when they're in a flock?!)_

Sighing to himself, and now very muddy and rather wet, Oswin continued down Route 1. It wasn't long before he bumped into that girl again, the one with the orange hair, and she looked to be very pissed off about something.

'Oh, it's you again… did you by any chance happen to see a boy with a Pikachu riding a bike going that way?' the girl asked, pointing in the direction Oswin had just walked from.

'Err… yeah I did. He was also being chased by a flock of Spearow… why?' Oswin couldn't help but ask. The girl bristled with rage.

'Because he stole my bike! That's why!' she shouted, kicking a pebble on the group to let out some of her anger. Oswin's eyes widened in shock.

_(I know Ash is a hopelessly stupid, but stealing is a bit out of character for him… unless he took it to get away from the Spearow… still, I am NOT going to point that out to this chick, she'd probably punch me if I even tried to defend him)_

'He must be a real jerk… maybe you should go after him and thrash him with your pokemon?' Oswin suggested with a sweet smile and the girl looked thoughtful at that suggestion.

'You know what, I think I will, thanks' the girl nodded at him before she stormed off, following the bike tracks that had been left in the fresh damp mud. Shaking his head in something between amusement and bewilderment, Oswin turned and carried on up the route, pausing only when he saw a massive thunderbolt shoot up into the sky and heard the sound of scattering Spearow.

_(And I guess that was Pikachu driving off the Spearow… I didn't even think Spearow nested in this area… I'm sure that Grandpa had to drive them off with his Charizard a few weeks ago for attacking trainers, maybe they came back… I'd better get back to Pallet before I'm next on their victims list)_

With that uneasy thought in mind, Oswin quickly ran the rest of the way to Pallet, dodging and running from any wild Rattata or Pidgey that got in his way. Thankfully he had no need to battle with Rose again and was nearly back at Pallet Town when he bumped into that boy from the Pokemart.

_(Oh, it's that guy again. I wonder if he managed to get a free potion like I told him he might be able to)_

'Oh hi! Hey, thanks for that tip, the guy gave me a free potion when I promised to take my business to the Viridian Pokemart… I didn't mention I always shop there anyway' the boy grinned cheekily and Oswin smirked at him.

'You're welcome for the tip kid, but I'd get out of this rain before it gets any heavier. See ya!' Oswin said before he raced off again, still running in order to get out of the rain.

'Oh… but I was going to ask him for a battle' the boy complained, but Oswin was already out of earshot. Muttering darkly to himself, the boy continued on his way back to Viridian, whilst Oswin kept on running towards Pallet. Finally he managed to get back to Pallet Town, drenched through to the bone but thankfully in one piece.

Night had fallen now, and looking in the direction of the lab, Oswin could see that all the lights were out, which indicated that Professor Oak had retired for the day and gone to bed. Oswin looked in the direction of his own home and saw it was much the same.

_(Guess I'm back later than I thought… oh well, I guess I'll just have to go give Grandpa his package tomorrow first thing… and I'll have to leave before my Dad demands his first rent payment, miserable old bastard… oh well)_

Oswin returned to his home and used his key to let himself in. He crept up the stairs and ventured into the bathroom, grabbing a towel before returning to his own room. He frowned slightly. It was slightly weird not having Gazz in there with him, snoring loudly. They had always shared a room from the day they were born and this was the first time it was just Oswin in it. Shaking himself out of those particularly depressing thoughts, Oswin removed his wet clothing with some difficulty, dried himself off, and pulled on a T-shirt and a fresh pair of boxers.

Barely managing to stifle a yawn, Oswin crawled into his bed and was out the second his head hit the pillow.

…

Stretching as his internal body-clock woke him up; Oswin glanced over at his bed-side clock. 6:15am it read in those red digital numbers, and sighing, Oswin got out of bed and quickly got dressed and gelled up his hair. He silently washed his face and brushed his teeth in the bathroom before his parents, or more accurately his father, heard him, and snatching up his still slightly damp bag, Oswin quickly headed for Professor Oak's laboratory.

He knocked on the door and wasn't surprised in the slightest to find Professor Oak was already up. His Grandpa had always been an early riser after all.

'Ah Oswin! I thought perhaps you were spending the night in Viridian City, you were gone so long' Professor Oak smiled at him warmly as he let Oswin into the lab.

'Sorry Grandpa, it was night by the time I got back so I decided to just go home and deliver your package this morning instead rather than waking you up' Oswin explained as they ventured further into the lab, going all the way to the back and sitting by some of the computers.

'Ah, so you managed to get back to Pallet without any trouble then?' the old man asked and Oswin nodded.

'And my package?' Professor Oak held out his hand expectantly and Oswin dug around in his bag, drawing the desired package out before he handed it to his new employer.

'Hum… it's a bit damp, but it'll be fine. Thank you Oswin, I guess your first assignment ends in success' the Professor smile warmly and Oswin grinned.

'The clerk told me to say hi for him as well… but he's a daydreamer and an annoying one at that' Oswin grumbled to himself. The Professor just laughed as he began opening his package. Oswin watched him closely. It was only just occurring to him that although it had been his job to get that package, nobody had told him what was actually inside it.

'Grandpa, what actually is it?' Oswin asked and Professor Oak smiled at him.

'It's the customer Pokeball Oswin, I was running short on them, thank you for picking this up for me… by the way, I've drawn up your contract. I had to ring Professor Ivy and Professor Elm to be sure, but I've selected the right amount to pay a junior assistant like you. Once the difficulty of your duties increased, your pay will go up with them' Professor Oak explained as he picked up an enveloped and handed it to Oswin.

'Thank you Grandpa' Oswin said gratefully, flicking through the envelop. It had an employ handbook for him to read, a list of rule that the lab was ordered to follow by the Pokémon League, Data Protection in regards to the information stored about Trainers at the lad, and a copy of Oswin's contract that he needed to read before signing. It also contained his first pay in hand for retrieving the package for Professor Oak.

Oswin quickly scanned through his contract. According to this; Professor Oak, with the Pokémon League funding him, would be paying Oswin £600 a month to begin with. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Oswin and it wasn't bad considering that this was his first job and a favour from his Grandpa.

Flicking through his contract, Oswin was pleased to see that his hours were a normal 9-5 shift during the week and he only had to work Saturday mornings until 12 noon before he was free for the weekend.

'Thanks Grandpa, this is all great. I really appreciate you giving me this job' Oswin smiled gratefully and the Professor patted him on the shoulder.

'It was nothing my boy. I know my son can be a little harsh with you kids, but he really does have your best interests at heart' Professor Oak smiled sympathetically at him. Oswin nodded, not liking that at all but he was unable to deny it.

'Oh wait, there isn't a dress code is there?' Oswin quickly asked and Professor Oak chuckled.

'As far as I'm concerned, you're fine as you are. Just don't turn up looking like you're going to one of those teenage concerts and you'll be fine. If we ever get a visit from the League I'd appreciate you coming in smarter though. This lab does have a glowing reputation after all. I want to keep it that way' the Professor stated and Oswin nodded in acceptance of that. He could respect that.

_(I don't want to ruin anything for Grandpa after all, and I guess office entire wouldn't hurt, at least not when someone important is visiting)_

'Just follow those rules in the envelop and do whatever I task you with to the best of your ability and I'm sure there won't be any problems' Professor Oak told him kindly and Oswin nodded before giving his Grandpa a hug, conveying just how appreciative of this he really was in the gesture.

…

And so with the paperwork all filed, Oswin Oak became Professor Oak's new assistant. But just because Oswin was his grandson, that didn't mean that Professor Oak didn't expect hard work from him. Oswin was kept busy over the next few days, mostly feeding pokemon in the Coral. Some were wild pokemon Professor Oak allowed to live there; some of them were trainers' pokemon that weren't in their current teams. Other times Oswin was sitting at computers, sorting through data and making reports and graphs for Professor Oak to use in either his lessons at the Pallet Town Trainer School or for his work for the league. Oswin had even been tasked to return to Viridian City one day and pick up another delivery, but the Professor would only smile secretively when Oswin asked him what was in it.

His father had insisted that he take a quarter of Oswin's wages, which meant that Oswin was down £150 every month but at least he had finally shut up over Oswin not going on a journey. Not much had changed between Oswin and Rose either. They tolerated each other, but they didn't particularly like each other all that much. Oswin was also still expiring to become a writer, and was filling his time outside of work by working on his own novels. He was beginning to write more about pokemon than he had before, but other than that, not much had changed in the style of his writing.

It was roughly two weeks after Oswin had received Rose the Bulbasaur did anything break Oswin's new routine. Professor Oak had been busy making phone calls all morning, and by eleven o'clock in the morning was he finally ready to reveal what he had planned. He just needed the last youngster to be present and then everything could be explained.

'Oswin, can you please come in here for a moment?' Professor Oak called out into the grounds. Oswin, who had been feeding the Ponyta and Rapidash in the stables as he had been instructed, bid them farewell and returned to the lab, wiping his feet on the mat as he did so.

'What is it Grandpa?' Oswin asked, looking around for his boss. Oswin spotted him in the back room of the lab, only he wasn't alone. Gary was there, looking slightly put out, a young girl with long light brown hair was there, looking politely curious, and Ash was also there with his Pikachu perched on his shoulder, with an orange haired girl in toe. She seemed to be glaring at Ash angrily, who was cowering slightly under her gaze. As Oswin approached, Professor Oak left them to retrieve the items he had called them all back for.

_(I wonder what they're all doing here. Hey wait, that redhead… isn't that the one Ash stole the bike from… I wonder what she's doing here)_

'Hey, it's you!' the girl exclaimed in shock when she spotted him.

'You're that girl with the bike right?' Oswin asked and the girl nodded.

'My name's Misty' she introduced herself.

'Oswin' Oswin nodded politely at her.

'What are _you_ doing here Oswin?' Ash butted in here and Oswin frowned at him for his rudeness.

'I work here now, since I'm not going on a journey. Professor Oak gave me a job, I don't know why _you're_ here though, care to share?' Oswin pressed with an arched eyebrow.

'Gramps called us all back here. It's so typical! I was just about to leave Viridian for Pewter City as well!' Gary complained loudly.

'At least you weren't there when this one (Misty turned to Ash here) blew up the pokemon centre!' Misty accused with a glare, whilst Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Oswin's eyes widened. He had heard about that in the news. Viridian centre's pokemon centre had been caught in an explosion due to Team Rocket activity in the area. Apparently two trainers had fought them off, but Oswin had never have thought it would have been Ash and Misty.

'That was you?!' Oswin gaped at Ash.

_(What the hell is wrong with him? First he steals a bike, and now he's blowing up buildings? Is he **trying** to get himself thrown in jail or what?!)_

'Team Rocket were trying to steal all the pokemon there. There wasn't another choice' Ash defended himself weakly.

'Pika!' Pikachu defended him as well.

_(Well, it seems as though those two are getting on better)_

'So what does Grandpa want us all for?' Oswin got them back on track.

'He said he has a task for all of us' the other girl, presumable the girl that had taken the Charmander, explained politely. Oswin eyed her. She was quite pretty, with her long brown hair, amber coloured eyes and her rather curvy figure. She was definitely a fifteen year old beauty babe, that was for sure. Probably a cheer leader to boot.

'Indeed I do Kathryn, take a seat Oswin' Professor Oak explained, re-entering the room, the second package that Oswin had been tasked to collect in his hands. Oswin smiled. It appeared he was finally about to get his answers as to what that second package contained.

'Now, I originally only intended for four to be doing this, but since Misty is refusing to leave until Ash pays her back for her bike, I've decided to ask her help in this as well' Professor Oak sat down between all the fifteen year olds.

'What is it Professor Oak?' the Charmander trainer, Kathryn Professor Oak had called her, wondered aloud.

'You see, I have a request for the five of you. This package contains several devices I myself helped to invent' Professor Oak explained, and from out of the brown package he pulled five strange devices. They were like small hand held computers, only they didn't have computer keys but a few buttons on the bottom half of them.

'What do they do?' Ash was the one to ask.

'This invention is called the Pokedex. They automatically record data on Pokémon you see or catch. It's basically a high-tech encyclopaedia for trainers to use… the only problem is, right now the database I created for them is empty, there is no data in it, which is where you all come in. It is my wish that you all take one of these each and use them to record every pokemon in Kanto. I'm sure that between you all you can manage it' Professor Oak said and realisation dawned on them all.

'But Grandpa, couldn't we just use the Pokémon here at the Coral to fill the Pokedex? Or at least a large portion of it' Oswin wondered aloud. Professor Oak shook his head in response to the question.

'We can't Oswin. The pokedex will be able to identify which specific area each pokemon recorded can be found in. That function wouldn't be updated simply be using the pokemon we research here at the Coral' Professor Oak explained, before turning back to the group as a whole.

'All five of you, will you take these Pokedexes and use them to record data on all the pokemon here in Kanto?' he requested seriously.

'Sure, I'll find them all!' Ash cheered enthusiastically, taking a red pokedex from Professor Oak.

'I guess that's alright, seeing as I want to catch some cool Water pokemon anyway' Misty shrugged as she took a pale blue pokedex from the pile.

'I can't promise to be any good at it, but I'll do my best' Kathryn shrugged as she too took a pokedex, this one being a pleasant yellow colour.

'Since you're the man paying my wages, I guess I can't exactly refuse' Oswin sighed softly, picking up a dark purple pokedex. He didn't like the sound of this one bit. He hadn't even wanted _one_ pokemon, never mind a whole bunch of them!

'Sure thing Gramps, I'll do it all be myself, you don't need to rely on any of these guys' Gary said smugly, taking the last pokedex, a dark green one. Everyone else scowled at him for his little comment there.

'Remember, you can't get detailed data on Pokémon just by seeing them. You must catch them to obtain complete data. So here are some tools for catching wild pokemon' Professor Oak pulled another package, the first one Oswin had retrieved for him, out of his pocket. He tore open the paper and passed five pokeballs each to all of the trainers present.

'You each only have one pokemon in your possession right now, so use those pokeballs to make up a team of six. Remember, trainers can't carry any more than that with them. Any others you get…' Professor Oak began before he got cut off.

'Will be sent here for _me_ to feed, so if any of them bite or are crazy, I'll know exactly which one of you sent them here and I'll whack you one, girls included' Oswin playfully threatened them all, making them all laugh.

'When a wild pokemon appears, its fair game. Just throw the ball at it and try to catch it! It's that easy. However this may not always work, you need to weaken the pokemon by using your own to battle against it. Ah, to make a complete guide of all the pokemon in the world… that was my dream! But I'm too old to do it now; I can't get the job done, so I want you kids to fulfill my dream for me. Get moving you five. This is a great undertaking in Pokémon History' Professor Oak beamed around at them all.

'All right Gramps! Leave it all to me! I hate to say this, but you lot but you won't be necessary for this. I know, I'll buy a Town Map in Viridian and bribe the store owner not to sell any to you guys! Hahahaha!' Laughing his head off, Gary jumped up, his new devices stored in his jeans' pockets, and he was out the door before anyone could stop him.

'Grrr… that Gary! I'll show him who'll catch the most pokemon!' Ash yelled angrily, before he too jumped up and made a bee-line for the door. Misty's head snapped around to face him as he went.

'Oi! I told you, you're not getting rid of me until you pay me back for my bike! I don't care if you dragged me all the way back to Pallet Town because of this Professor! So just stay right where you are mister!' Misty screamed, also leaping to her feet, and snatching up her bag, she too fled the lab without a backwards glance.

'Err… are they always like this?' Kathryn blinked after them, confusion dancing around her face.

'Pretty much. Hopefully you can leave this lab Kathryn without causing such a spectacle' Professor Oak shook his head wearily, wondering just what it was he had just unleashed into the unsuspecting world. Kathryn thanked the professor for the pokedex and pokeballs, before she left also, promising to try her best in helping him.

Oswin meanwhile was doing some mathematics in his head. According to what Professor Oak had been telling him over the past few weeks, Kanto was estimated to house roughly one hundred and fifty species of pokemon, barring any foreign pokemon not native to the country. That roughly meant that each of the five helping with the pokedex needed to catch thirty pokemon in order to complete it. Oswin's eyes bulged out of his head when he figured that out.

_(Thirty?! I didn't even want one!)_

'There is no way I am catching thirty pokemon all for myself! I didn't even want Rose!' Oswin immediately said once Professor Oak had returned from seeing Kathryn out of the lab. Professor Oak just smiled patronisingly at him.

'Calm down Oswin, when Rose evolves, it'll count as a separate entry in the Pokedex. And when she's a Venusaur, that'll be three entries. It'll make it a lot easier to fill the pokedex by evolving pokemon instead of just catching them' Professor Oak explained and Oswin calmed down slightly. But that still meant training Rose up to evolve, something he was adamant against doing. Imagine all that writing time he'd lose by training Rose all the way into a Venusaur!

'Anyway, you've been doing extremely well in your duties around here, but I've got a new assignment for you… one much tougher than fetching a simple delivery in Viridian City' Professor Oak changed the subject and Oswin looked at him sharply.

_(A new assignment? As if filling in this stupid Pokedex isn't going to be challenging enough!)_

'Oh?' was all he said in response.

'You see, I've struck a rather important deal with a museum owner called Mr Valda in Pewter City. Apparently his daughter is fond of foreign pokemon and Mr Valda bought her a male Kirlia from the Hoenn Region. He's willing to exchange my Dawn Stone for an Old Amber fossil that's in storage at the museum' Professor Oak explained, as if all of this would make perfect sense to Oswin. It did not.

'Why?' Oswin couldn't help but wonder.

'When a Male Kirlia uses a Dawn Stone, it will evolve into one of its final forms, Gallade. It's a pokemon found only in the Sinnoh region' Professor Oak told him.

_(Great, so Grandpa is having me trade this stone because some girl is a spoil brat wishing for a pokemon evolution… oh the realms I have lowered myself too! Serving a spoilt brat!)_

'Right… so what, I'm supposed to go register this Gallade thing in my Pokedex?' Oswin wondered but Professor Oak shook his head.

'No, that pokedex of yours will only register Kanto pokemon in it right now. No, it's the Old Amber that I need. There has been a recent break-through in the science of pokemon cloning and restoration and if that Old Amber contains pokemon DNA, which I'm hopeful it will, I might be able to have it revived into an ancient pokemon. It'll be perfect to research and will be extremely useful in discovering how pokemon lived in ancient times' Professor Oak said with a starry-eyed expression at the thought of researching a pokemon long since extinct. Oswin rolled his eyes. That sounded like a lot of hard work for nothing he was actually interested in.

_(Still, Grandpa's my boss now, and I can't very well refuse… and I suppose it's just making an exchange… but still, I'd have to go all the way to Pewter through Viridian Forest and all the way back as well! That's going to take me at least a week, maybe even longer!)_

Unlike getting to Viridian, which took only the greater part of a single day on foot, Pewter City was a _lot_ further.

'That's going to take me a while Grandpa' Oswin said resignedly.

'Oh I know it will, which is why there's another task I'm going to set you. Between Pewter and here there are many different kinds of pokemon. I want you to catch as many as you can for our collective goal in filling the pokedex' Professor Oak stated and Oswin scowled angrily.

'But grandpa! You know I don't want that many pokemon! I didn't even want Rose!' Oswin whined loudly and Professor Oak frowned down at him.

'Well… I suppose there's another way to go about this then, if you're so insistent about not caring for a full team. You see, Pokeballs are touch-sensitive. The pokemon gets registered in the name of the trainer that touched the pokeball last before the capture. However, a pokeball can also be keyed in the name of someone else. If I key in some pokeballs to be Official Lab pokemon, they won't be your own pokemon' Professor Oak explained and Oswin thought about what that meant.

Basically there were three types of pokemon that resided in the Coral. The first were wild pokemon that set up their home there and Professor Oak was kind enough not to drive them off. The second were the pokemon that weren't with their trainers because their team was full so Professor Oak took care of them. And the third were Official Lab pokemon. Those were… not quite owned by Professor Oak… more like the Pokémon League owned them as they funded Professor Oak's lab. The pokemon couldn't be used by anyone but Official Lab staff, i.e. Professor Oak or any other Professor funded by the League, like Professor Ivy over in the Orange islands, or Professor Elm in the Johto region. Oswin himself was allowed use any Official Lab pokemon he wanted to as he too was an official staff member at the Oak Laboratory, but they weren't specifically under his care, which was perfect for this task.

_(So, I'd have to battle and catch pokemon, but they wouldn't actually be mine once they're caught)_

'Ok, I guess that would be ok. So I'm supposed to catch as many weak pokemon as I can? And try and train some of them up to evolve and fill more of the Pokedex?' Oswin asked and Professor Oak confirmed this to be true.

'Also, those pokeball I gave you before, they'll be keyed into you, so only use those ones if you want a specific pokemon for yourself that you'd like to keep' Professor Oak warned him.

_(Yeah Gramps, I highly doubt there's a pokemon I'll actually want for myself. I don't even like Rose that much!)_

'OK, I suppose. But I'm only doing this whilst on assignment. I won't train them in my own time. Now where's this Dawn Stone thing?' Oswin asked and Professor Oak, suddenly remembering the stone that was the whole reason behind this particular assignment, walked into his storeroom and returned moments later with a small green box. He opened it and showed Oswin a beautiful round stone that shone with jade blues and olive green lights. It was stunningly gorgeous. Oswin was left completely enthralled by the beautiful quality of it. He made a mental note to refer to this stone if he ever needed to describe something in one of his stories, a characters' eyes perhaps or the beauty of a mysterious lake maybe.

'A friend of mine from Sinnoh gave it to me as a gift to help my research, but having an ancient pokemon is much better in my opinion. This friend researches the power of evolution anyway so I've no idea why he gave it to me in the first place' Professor Oak said, closing the box and handing it to Oswin, who set it down on his own personal desk. Yes, he had his own desk, his own computer; this was actually a proper little job he had landed himself. Still, it wasn't writing, but it would do until he made it as a writer, not matter how far away that goal might be for the time being.

'Ok Grandpa, now if you'd just key those…' Oswin began but Professor Oak held up a hand to silence him before Oswin could finish. The old man headed over to his desk, and came back with ten pokeballs, all of which had the initials 'O.L' printed on them.

_(O.L? Oh, of course, Official Lab, duh!)_

'Official Lab Pokeballs, keyed into the ownership of this laboratory and under the care of its employees' Professor Oak stated as he handed Oswin the O.L balls.

'Now, unless you have over six pokemon on your person, the pokemon in the O.L balls will stay with you and listen to your commands. But remember, they won't be _your_ pokemon so try not to grow too attached to any of them' Professor Oak warned and Oswin rolled his eyes.

_(Yeah, **not** gonna be a problem there Gramps)_

'Right, well… like I said, it'll take me roughly a week to get there and back, maybe even longer if there are any problems along the way. I'll try to be as quick as I can though' Oswin quickly promised.

'It's fine Oswin, take all the time you need. And call me if there are any problems or any delays' Professor Oak instructed and Oswin nodded. Pocketing the O.L balls, the pokeballs keyed into himself, and his pokedex, Oswin hugged his Grandpa goodbye and headed for home.

He let himself inside and after a quick explanation to his parents of where he was going; he headed up to his room. Despite them both being disappointed that he hadn't gone on a journey, which his father was still quite angry about but had let the matter rest at last, both of them were actually rather proud of how well their son was doing in his new role as his grandfather's assistant, and if the old man kept sending him out on errands like this, well Oswin might just see more of Kanto than he had originally planned on, which they both thought was secretly the old man's intentions. Professor Oak could be tricky like that after all.

Oswin packed up some spare clothes, all his pokemon essentials, his Trainer Licence, a small one-man tent, and a sleeping bag. He also packed his notebook and writing pen with him, so that he could jot down any ideas for his stories that might come to him whilst on the road. He then raided the kitchen fridge and packed himself some food. He'd buy some pokemon food for Rose and any O.L pokemon he caught when he got to Viridian City.

With everything he needed in hand, Oswin sent off from home once again, his destination… Pewter City. His assignment – Trade the Dawn Stone for the Old Amber.

**...**

**And there's chapter one : ) Now, as you can see, it follows the game more than the anime, but there will be a new plot and my own elements will be added to this, so hopefully it will be more enjoyable to read through. Also, I know some events are different from Canon, so please, if you spot them, don't jump to the conclusion I've made a mistake as I know what the changes are and they were all deliberate. I'm also aiming to keep this as different to my other pokemon story as possibly, which is why some things are different. Anyway, I hope you enoyed this first chapter and will continue to read this story, and please remember to leave me a review, even if you hated it : )**


	2. Operation 2 – Venturing Viridian Forest

**Hey! So, here's chapter two : ) I was going to wait a while longer before posting this, but I'm bore so I decided to upload it today instead. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and please remember that Pokemon is not owned by me. All I own is Oswin, and the characters of the pokemon but not the species or official names themselves : )**

**...**

**Operation 2 – Venturing Viridian Forest**

Oswin watched with a somewhat bored expression as Rose took down a level 3 wild Rattata with ease. Her constant victories were inflating the little grass type's ego, along with her Exp points whilst making the local Rattata and Pidgey tremble in fear whenever they crossed her path. Rose's latest victim immediately fled into some bushes, just as she grew to level 10 and learned Vine Whip.

All the way up Route 1 Oswin had used Rose to battle against every wild pokemon they came across, and she had already grown four levels in the space of a couple hours. She now had an arsenal of four moves, including her new Vine Whip. When she had reached level 7 she had learnt Leech Seed, and both of those new moves were quite useful, both being of the Grass Type element.

_(She's really on a role today… not like I care, not really. The only reason I'm having her level up is so that she's strong enough to get us through Viridian Forest safely. I'm still not becoming a trainer, and after all, raising a Bulbasaur up to level 10 is hardly difficult. It's not like she's anywhere near strong enough to use in the Gym Circuit either. This is just a precaution, so that I know we're strong enough to drive off any aggressive wild pokemon)_

'Ok Rose, that's enough for now' Oswin finally called, and Rose, panting from the effort she had been putting in all day but determined to continue in her attempts to get stronger, glared at him angrily as she turned to look up at him.

'Bulbasaur!' _(Typical Moron, always ruining my fun)_ Rose scowled up at him in frustration, annoyed that her battling fun had been put to an end against her wishes. And she had been making such good progress as well.

Oswin frowned. They had been together for over a fortnight now and Rose still seemed to rather detest him, but still, Oswin wasn't overly bothered by her attitude. It wasn't exactly as if _he_ had wanted _her_ in the first place either. They were more kind of stuck with each other than anything else.

'We must be close to Viridian City by now. Maybe this time I can look around a bit before heading out into the Viridian Forest and then onto Pewter City' Oswin mused aloud to himself, whilst Rose rolled her eyes at him.

'Bulba. Saur' _(I don't care what you do – just button your gob and get a move on Moron) _Rose muttered grumpily to herself. She still loathed Oswin, and now he was ruining her training as well! She had wanted to evolve into a powerful Venusaur for years now, for as long as she could remember, she wanted to be just like her mother, but because of this moron, that might never happen now. And she hated him for it.

Oswin and Rose took a few steps forwards, into some more rustling grass, and they both jumped when a level 3 Pidgey shot out at them, flapping its wings and fluttering around Oswin's head, making the teenager dizzy as he tried to keep the pokemon in his sights at all time.

'Shoo! Shoo!' Oswin cried, flailing his arms in a lousy attempt to scare the Pidgey off. It didn't work. Rose meanwhile was laughing loudly and clearly as Oswin ducked as the Pidgey tried to peck at his nose.

'Rose! Stop laughing and use Leech Seed!' Oswin snapped angrily. Snarling, Rose's bulb glowed with a rippling green aura, before a small seed shot out the opening of her bulb and spun through the air towards the Pidgey. It hit the Pidgey in the chest and some weeds sprouted from the seed, wrapping themselves around the startled Pidgey and draining it of its strength. Rose then glowed slightly as she absorbed the energy that the Leech Seed had stolen from the Pidgey, restoring some of her own health.

With its wings pinned down to its body, the Pidgey fell to the ground with a dull thud, and Oswin breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the little feathery menace was out of his face and helpless at his feet.

'Pidgey!' the Pidgey gave a muffled squawk due to the fact that its beck was tied shut. Oswin felt a small amount of pity for the creature, being tied up like that. It was obvious that the Pidgey belonged in the sky with all the others of its kind.

_(Belongs in the sky… I wish **I** had wings, 'cause then I wouldn't have to walk all the way to Pewter City on foot… wait a moment! That Pidgey, maybe it could fly me there! But that would mean having to catch it, and Pidgey are really boring common pokemon, and I don't want to have waste all my time caring for something that's not even that interesting… oh… of course!)_

'Right Rose, we're catching that Pidgey! Use Tackle until it's out for the count!' Oswin cried quickly. Rose, looking rather surprised that Oswin was actually considering catching another pokemon as her trainer had made it quite clear to her that he would NOT be taking her on a journey (Something which had pissed her off to an even further degree as she had always wanted to travel and get stronger), bounded forwards and slammed herself into the entrapped Pidgey. It wasn't long before the Pidgey's eyes were nothing but mere swirls as it slipped into unconsciousness, and Oswin knew enough about Pokémon Trainers to know that this was his chance to act, the imperative moment in a capture as it were.

'Right… O.L Ball, go!' he yelled, grabbing one of the O.L balls and flinging it in the Pidgey's direction. Unable to dodge or even defend against the incoming projectile, the Pidgey was helpless as the O.L ball hit it, transfiguring the Pidgey into an energy signature which was immediately sucked into the pokeball.

The O.L fell to the ground and wobbled on the spot as the Pidgey inside it tried to break out of it. It wobbled to the right. It wobbled to the left. It wobbled to the right once more, and then the lock on the O.L ball snapped shut, signalling a successful capture.

_(So that's what catching a pokemon is like… ok, I'll admit that was sort of fun in a way, but it just doesn't compare to being a writer. That's way more fun! But hey, at least now I know how to catch a pokemon which could prove useful at some point in the future, and I could use a scene like that in my books if one of my characters ever turns out to be a pokemon trainer. Plus there's the added bonus that this Pidgey is a now an Official Lab pokemon, and not my sole responsibility, which is perfect since it's quite a common and boring pokemon)_

'Nice work Rose, I'll admit you did well in that battle' Oswin admitted and Rose sneered up at him.

'Bulbasaur!'_ (I did better than 'well' Moron, I was kicking ass back there!) _Rose said smugly to herself, immensely satisfied by her own handy-work. She was a little confused as to Oswin's change of heart, but didn't question it. If he was interested in catching pokemon, he might take her on a journey, and as long as Rose got what she wanted, she couldn't care less about what happened to Oswin along the way. She was out for herself, and that was that.

'Right, well I suppose I had better introduce myself to this Pidgey and explain how this is gonna work. Pidgey, come out' Oswin ordered as he picked up the O.L ball and let the Pidgey back out into the physical world. The Pidgey let out a loud squawk as it looked around frantically, trying to figure out what had just happened to it. The poor little guy had obviously never been inside a pokeball before.

'If you're confused about what just happened, I'll explain. I caught you in one of these O.L balls. They're a special type of pokeball which means that you're now an Official Lab pokemon. Most of the time you'll be under the care of specialist pokemon researchers and used in their research into pokemon, but from time to time you'll be under the care of Lab assistants like me and used in the field. Do you understand that?' Oswin asked the airborne Pidgey that was hovering before him, taking in his words.

The Pidgey looked confused for a brief moment, before he nodded slowly in understanding. Oswin sighed in relief, glad that this little feathery-butt wasn't going to be problematic. In fact, that Pidgey didn't seem to mind being captured too much at all. Oswin was hopeful that any other O.L pokemon he caught along the way would be of the same mentality and not hostile towards him. He could deal without pissed off pokemon biting at his ankles, thank you very much. He was a writer, he was much too busy for that!

'Good. Now, I'm a Lab assistant and I'm on an important assignment for my employer. I need to get to Pewter City as soon as possible to make an exchange, so I was hoping you could fly me there' Oswin explained and the Pidgey's eyes bulged out of its beaky head.

'Pidgey!' _(You must be joking! Have you seen the size of you?!)_ The Pidgey gaped at him, gobsmacked by the instruction. Oswin seemed to realise that the Pidgey wasn't grabbing the idea with both wings as it were, and he frowned up at the small pokemon.

'Oh come on, just grab the back of my hoodie and flap your wings' he snapped impatiently. He didn't have time to waste with an argumentative Pidgey after all. He was in a rush to get back so that he could get on with some more writing. He still had to try and figure out the details for the leading female character in one of his stories after all. He didn't want to waste any more time out in Route 1 than he already had spent training Rose up.

Looking highly doubtful that Oswin's plan would work, the Pidgey grabbed the hood of Oswin's hoodie with both his talons and flapped his little wings as hard as he could. Oswin gasped for air as the neck of his hoodie constricted tightly around his throat, digging painfully into his neck and cutting off his air supply, rather abruptly at that. Pidgey managed to lift him an inch or two off the ground, before Oswin's weight was too much for the tiny bird and it was forced to let go. Oswin fell flat on his arse, which elicited a small grunt of pain from the teenager, and a gasp as he breathed in the air deeply.

Rose was laughing her head off now, and as Oswin pulled himself to his feet, he scowled down at the little runt which he had been lumbered with.

_(I am so sick of her laughing at me… that was a good idea! The only problem is, Pidgey's too small to support my weight… maybe if he was a Pidgeotto… oh forget it! I'd rather walk then train this bird-brain up until it evolves. I'd be out in this route for weeks doing that… still, he's only level 3… Oswin Oak, you really are losing your marbles by saying this…You're a writer! Not a trainer!)_

'Ok, so flying's out. I suppose the best thing to do for now is to train you up a little bit. I mean, a flying type will be much better at warding off the bugs of Viridian Forest, and Rose can only do so much by herself, so until I tell you to stop, go battle some wild pokemon Pidgey' Oswin ordered and the Pidgey nodded before it flew off into a tree, immediately picking a fight with a nesting Pidgey of level 2.

Oswin sighed and sat down, deciding it was time for a break. They had been walking for quite a while now anyway. Rolling her eyes at her trainer, Rose slowly sat down too. She could still go on for a while yet, but she decided that for now she'd chill a bit so that she could pound the next Rattata she saw to increase her strength even more. Oswin pulled out his notebook and began thinking about one of his stories, jotting down ideas every now and then.

In the end they ended up resting for over an hour, and by the time Pidgey flew back over towards Oswin, the small bird had grown to level 5 and learnt Sand Attack. Deciding that that was enough for now, Oswin congratulated Pidgey on its effort and returned him to his O.L ball.

'Do you want to stay out, or go back in your pokeball?' Oswin asked Rose, who glared at him before grunting an answer at him.

'Stay out?' he asked and Rose nodded in confirmation. Oswin silently accepted this, arose to his feet, and began walking onwards again. They didn't see another wild Pokémon by the time Oswin reached Viridian City just under half an hour later, which he was glad about seeing as enough time had been wasted in the area anyway and he wanted to press on.

Oswin wanted to visit the Pokémon centre first, deciding that he wanted Rose and Pidgey at full health so that he could get through Viridian Forest in one go without having to head back to the city due to lack of preparation.

_(Ok, Pokemarts have blue roofs, and if I remember correctly, Pokémon centres have red roofs, which means that that building over there must be the Pokémon Centre. I guess they rebuilt it pretty quickly, considering that just a few weeks ago Ash and Misty blew it up. It must be because of the volume of trainers passing through Viridian that made it such a priority) _

Having spotted a large red roofed building not too far from the exit of Route 1, Oswin and Rose quickly made their way over to the rebuilt Pokémon Centre. The sooner he fought his way through Viridian Forest, the sooner he could give that spoiled brat her stone and get the old Amber before going home. Oswin and Rose approached the building, and to Oswin's relief found it to be the place they were looking for.

They ventured inside, and Oswin lead his pokemon over to the counter which was opposite the door, where a woman in a nurse's outfit with pink hair curled into two loops smiled warmly at him in welcome.

'Welcome to our Pokémon Centre! Would you like me to heal your pokemon back to perfect health?' the nurse asked kindly.

'If it's no trouble' Oswin nodded politely and the woman's smile widened.

'It's no trouble at all; just return your Bulbasaur and I can get started. It may take a few minutes, so please, go talk with the other people here while you wait' she suggested and Oswin nodded.

'Rose, return' he instructed and seconds later Rose was pulled back into her pokeball. Oswin handed her pokeball and the O.L ball with the Pidgey over to the nurse. She looked at the O.L ball in wonder.

'An O.L ball, that must mean you work for Professor Oak… or Professor Elm?' she asked and Oswin nodded.

'Professor Oak is my grandfather. I'm his assistant at his lab in Pallet Town' he explained and the nurse nodded in understanding, before she left to go heal Rose and Pidgey.

With nothing to do but wait, Oswin looked around the small pokemon centre to see if anybody was around. There were three people. An old man sat at a large glass table, a young boy in a yellow cap and shorts was pacing in a corner, and a middle aged man was waiting by the door, leaning against the wall. Oswin approached the old man, who looked up at him as he approached.

'Please feel free to use that PC in the corner. The Nurse at the counter told me so. It's so kind of her!' he said happily and Oswin frowned.

'What do people use it for?' he wondered aloud.

'Mostly for swapping their pokemon teams around, taking pokemon off their teams and sending them to storage and vice versa' the old man shrugged and Oswin decided to check the computer out. It turned out to not only be a computer, but a video phone as well. Seeing as he knew how to work a video phone, Oswin decided to check out the computer options of the device instead.

He used the touch screen to select 'Storage Services' and it brought up four options on the screen; Someone's PC. Oswin's PC. Professor Oak's PC. Log Off.

_(I can access my home computer from here? That's pretty cool. This screen must be touch sensitive to trainers, just like the pokeballs, that must be how it connects to my computer. Technology is amazing. Professor Oak's PC must be to have Professor Oak give you necessary advice, or to tell you about your pokedex I suppose. I wonder who 'Someone's PC' is though…)_

Oswin decided to log off and headed back towards the counter, just as the nurse finally finished healing up Rose and the O.L Pidgey.

'Thank you for waiting, we're restored your pokemon to full health. We hope to see you again!' she said cheerfully, handing Rose's pokeball and the O.L ball back to Oswin, who clipped them to his belt as he thanked her.

_(That's a little morbid, wishing that people's pokemon got hurt just to see the trainers again)_

Shaking off that particular thought, Oswin left the centre and looked around the town, wondering what he should do now that the pokemon with him had been restored to perfect health. Oswin checked his bag. He had nine O.L balls with him, five of his own Pokeballs, and a singular potion. Knowing that getting through Viridian Forest would be difficult on those rations alone, Oswin decided to make a quick stop by the Pokemart before deciding on anything else.

Oswin scowled when he saw that that idiot daydreamer was on the check out again. As the irritated teenager

approached, he was annoyed to see that the guy didn't even recognise him.

_(What nerve! I hate this plank! Oh, I wish I never came here… oh shit, it's too late now, he's seen me!)_

'Hi there! How may I help you?' he asked and Oswin sighed.

'Four Potions and four Antidotes please' Oswin requested and the man nodded, before he rummaged around under the counter, reappearing moments later with Oswin's goods in a plastic bag.

'That's £1700 all together' he said cheerfully and Oswin gaped at him.

_(£1700?! That's outrageous, and extortionate! Oh well… I can't afford NOT to buy them I suppose. This stinks!)_

Oswin turned over the money before practically fleeing the Pokemart, determined to get as far away from that dolt of a man as quickly as possible. Even though he wanted to look around the town some more, Oswin's desire to get to Pewter to get this stupid assignment over with outweighed his desire to explore, and realising he didn't even know the way to Viridian Forest, Oswin quickly set out to find a way to rectify that problem.

Spotting a young boy playing in some flower bushes, Oswin approached him. He was just about to open his mouth to ask for directions, when the boy spoke up before he could get a word out.

'You want to know about the two kinds of caterpillar pokemon?' the kid asked and an annoyed expression overtook Oswin's face

_(What?! NO you stupid child! Why the hell would I care about two lousy types of caterpillar?! Do I look like a Butterfly hunter to you kid?!)_

'Err, no, not really. What I want to know is the way to Viridian Forest. Can you tell me?' Oswin asked, trying extremely hard to keep his irritated thoughts out of his voice. A thoughtful look overtook the kid's face. What Oswin didn't know was that this child was renowned for causing trouble, the little brat.

'I think you can get to Viridian Forest from the West exit of the centre' the boy said with an angelic face.

'Thanks' Oswin said, before he set off running in the direction he knew to be west. As soon as he was gone, the boy cracked up laughing.

'Haha! That'll serve him right for not wanting to hear about the Caterpie and Weedle' he laughed to himself, smugly pleased with his little prank for the morning.

…

On the west side of town, Oswin found the entrance to what he believed to be Route 2, and he set off down it without noticing the sign which informed him that this was in fact the entrance to Route 22.

Oswin followed the long winding path, through some trees and the occasionally bush, and it wasn't long before the young teenager came to a small clump of grass.

_(Right, we must be close to Viridian Forest by now so there's bound to be some bug pokemon in this grass. I'll use Pidgey if any of them decide to attack me)_

Bravely stepping into the grass, Oswin found that it was not Bug Type pokemon that dwelled in this particular patch of grass, but pokemon belonging to the Fighting Element instead. A small pokemon leapt out at him, making Oswin yelped and jump back in surprise, as the pokemon stomped angrily at the ground around Oswin's feet.

The pokemon was small, and was covered in a coat of cream coloured fur. It had a pig like nose, angry looking eyes, and its fists were clenched and looked ready to pummel Oswin into the ground. Its curled tail was swinging from side to side irritably, as the creature glared up at Oswin.

'What the hell is that thing?' Oswin muttered aloud, pulling out his pokedex and scanning the creature with it. Oswin quickly found the entry for the creature. The creature was called 'Mankey', but since Oswin had yet to catch one, the rest of the pokedex was blank about the species.

Oswin looked back at the Mankey. It was only Level 3, he was sure that Pidgey could take it, and judging by the creature's expression, Oswin would need to beat it in battle for it to let him pass.

_(I hope Pidgey's up for this. This Mankey looks tougher than all those Pidgey and Rattata out on Route 1… but it doesn't matter. I need to get past it in order to get to Pewter; I can't let this Mankey get in my way!)_

'Go Pidgey, Tackle Attack!' Oswin cried, releasing Pidgey onto the field. The Flying Type soared through the air and slammed into Mankey, who was pushed back slightly but dug his heels in and managed to throw Pidgey off, therefore only taking minimal damage.

The Mankey retaliated with its Scratch and Pidgey chirped in pain as he was knocked to the ground. Oswin ordered him to use Tackle again, but this time Pidgey missed and the Mankey used Scratch again. Pidgey's HP was half way down now.

'Sand Attack!' Oswin yelled, and Pidgey flapped his wings, beating some dirt and mud up into Mankey's eyes. The fighting type rubbed at his eyes furiously, frantically trying to clear them. When he did, he looked angrier than Oswin had ever seen a pokemon before. He lunged at Pidgey, and with one more Scratch, he scored a K'O hit and knocked Pidgey out.

_(Oh shit, he beat Pidgey… looks like Rose will need to handle this one)_

'Pidgey return, go Ro…ARGH!' Oswin yelled as the Mankey leapt at _him_ now and punched him so hard the teenager was sent hurtling backwards into a tree. Oswin hit the trunk and with a gasp of pain, he slumped down to the floor, clutching at the back of his throbbing head.

'Ow… hey! That fucking hurt you little tosser!' Oswin yelled at the pokemon, who let out a roar of rage and ran at Oswin to strike him again.

_(Ah! Yeah, yelling at a raging pokemon that can pack a wallop perhaps wasn't my best course of action to date)_

Oswin didn't know what to do. He wasn't prepared for this. And the Mankey was still coming! Letting out a terrified yelp, Oswin reached into his bag and did the only thing he could think of. Grabbing a pokeball at random, Oswin pulled it out, much to his relief, an O.L ball and before he could even think about it, he hurled it at the oncoming Mankey.

The O.L ball hit the Mankey directly between the eyes, making the raging pokemon angrier than ever, before he was sucked inside once transfigured into a beam of scarlet energy. Oswin stayed where he was, still too afraid to move, as he watched the O.L ball rocking back and forth.

Finally, the O.L's lock snapped shut and the Mankey was caught, not that Oswin was very happy about that.

_(Fucking fantastic, now I've done it! I'm stuck with that rotten little bastard! Why did I have to catch it?! I couldn't have thrown Rose's pokeball instead and drove it off. Well, at least it's not under my care permanently, but it's sure to cause a lot of trouble around the lab… oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now, he's an Office Lab pokemon now after all so I can't release him, not without breaking the law at any rate)_

Oswin was internally debating whether it was worth breaking the law and getting rid of a pokemon that wasn't legally his, when he thought he heard movement in the grass before him. Not wanting to run into anymore Mankey, Oswin snatched up the O.L ball with the Mankey in it and placed it on his belt before he hurried off the way he had come from before any wild pokemon showed up again.

He quickly headed back into town, surprising the nurse as he requested that she heal his pokemon again. She did so however and it wasn't long before Oswin was back in the same spot he had been in when he had encountered the Mankey, determined to make it through this time without any more interruptions.

But of course, fate was not on his side, and of course, interruptions always seemed to come along at the most inconvenient of times, especially when your twin brother just so happened to be Gary Oak.

_(What is he doing here? I'd have thought he'd be far away by now, or maybe I'm just thinking wishfully)_

Signing at the sight of his own twin just ahead of him on the path, Oswin slowly approached him. When Gary first spotted Oswin, his eyes widened in surprise for a moment; before a smug grin overtook his face as he greeted his twin brother.

'Hey Oz, I'm surprised to see _you_ here of all places!' Gary grinned at his brother. Oswin tilted his head in confusion.

'Why's that Gazz?' Oswin quirked a confused eyebrow at his twin.

'This path heads straight to the Pokémon League! You can forget about challenging them if you changed your mind! You need all eight badges to pass through here, plus you have to fight your way through a whole tournament's worth of trainers if you want to challenge the Champion and his Elite Four' Gary explained and Oswin's confusion multiplied ten-fold.

_(The Pokémon League… but that kid… he told me that Viridian Forest was this way!)_

'I'm not looking for the Pokémon League Gazz; I'm looking for Viridian Forest. This _is_ Route 2 isn't it?' he asked and Gary snorted.

'No, come _on_ Oz; engage your teeny tiny brain. This is Route _22_, everyone knows that!' Gary as if talking to a half-wit. Confusion flickered in Oswin's eyes, before dawning understanding shone in them, only to be replaced by a look of untameable rage.

_(That little asshole! He gave me duff information on purpose! Because I didn't want to hear about the Caterpillars! Oh… if I ever see that smelly little brat again, I'll set that irritating Mankey on him!)_

'That little dickhead sent me this way on purpose… great, so I've just wasted nearly two hours getting down this route for nothing at all… this sucks balls!' Oswin shouted loudly, startling some nesting Spearow out of their tree. Gary was watching his twin with amusement glinting in his eyes, before he decided to change the subject.

'So what? Some little runt played a trick on you and you fell for it; it's not the end of the world. Anyway, how have you been doing filling Grandpa's Pokedex? I've already got ten different types of pokemon, but most of them I've sent back to the Coral, so I only have two with me. How many do you have Oswin?' Gary inquired and Oswin sighed, letting his annoyance at that little brat take a back seat in his mind for the moment.

'Well, I still have Rose the Bulbasaur, and I caught a Pidgey and a Mankey but neither of them are mine. I caught them using O.L balls so they belong to the lab, not to me' Oswin explained and Gary nodded. He doubted that Oswin would change his mind about being a trainer this soon. His brother was as stubborn as they came, and Gary knew what an O.L ball was, it made sense Oswin would use those instead to help in Professor Oak's project.

'I see. Well then there's only one thing to do. I want to see if Rose has got any stronger, so let's go!' Gary yelled, and faster than Oswin could blink, his brother pulled out a pokeball and released a male Pidgey. It was a lot bigger than the O.L Pidgey Oswin had with him, but that was to be expected, considering he was at level 9.

'A battle? Oh well, if we really must. Pidgey, go!' Oswin shouted, releasing the healed Pidgey once again. Whilst Oswin wasn't Pidgey's official trainer, he was still an Official Lab employee and therefore he was licenced to use Pidgey in battle, even against other trainers but most Professors frowned upon that. Oswin wasn't a professor though, nor was he a trainer so playing by the rules had little impact on him.

_(Ok, Gary's Pidgey is at Level 9, and the O.L Pidgey is level 5. I need to be careful if I want to win this… wait a second, what do I care if I win or lose this… because Gary will be unbearable, that's why… yeah, it's got nothing to do with wanting to win… nothing at all!)_

Oswin frowned; confused as to where the sudden desire to win was coming from, before he pushed it aside to think about later. He had to focus right now.

'Pidgey, Sand Attack!' Oswin yelled and Pidgey beat up some dirt towards the more experience Pidgey with his wings. Gary's Pidgey's ability 'Keen Eye' kicked in, preventing him from losing any accuracy.

'Haha! Too bad you forgot about that little ability Oswin, Pidgey's accuracy can't be brought down! Pidgey, use Tackle!' Gary ordered and his Pidgey slammed into the O.L Pidgey, nearly taking out half his HP points in the process.

_(Damn it, that was a rookie mistaken. I should have paid more attention to Grandpa's lessons. Right, time to get serious)_

'Tackle, quickly!' Oswin cried and the O.L Pidgey hit Gary's with a Tackle attack, but being nearly at half strength, not to mention four levels lower, the O.L Pidgey barely managed to take out a quarter of Gary's pokemon's HP points.

Gary had his Pidgey strike the O.L Pidgey again, and he was reduced to precious few HP points. Oswin quickly used a potion on the Pidgey, restoring some of his health. Gary's Pidgey hit him again with Tackle, but the O.L Pidgey managed to hang on. The O.L Pidgey managed to hit Gary's with another Tackle, but one more Tackle the other way around was enough to knock the O.L Pidgey out this time. The unconscious pokemon hit the ground with a loud thud.

_(He lost… but that's alright, I still have Mankey and Rose after all. I can still win this)_

'Pidgey return, that was a good job' Oswin said, before he froze again. There is was again. That overwhelming desire to win. Why did this matter at all to him? He was a writer, not a trainer! What did he care if Gary beat him or not?! And yet, Oswin still had this burning desire not to lose this match. What the hell was wrong with him?!

'Ha, nice work Pidgey, keep up the good work!' Gary cheered on his own Pidgey.

'Pidgey!' Gary's Pidgey chirped happily, flapping his wings to remain hovering in the air. Oswin grabbed Rose's pokeball and released the Grass Type.

_(I know that Rose is weak to Flying Types, but she's my best shot at winning this now. That Mankey is too low levelled to pull this off, and it will probably attack me the moment I let it out of the O.L ball anyway… rotten little bastard)_

'Ha, going with Rose huh? I thought you said you had a Mankey, but I suppose that's a bad option too against a Flying type… Pidgey, Tackle attack!' Gary yelled and Pidgey dive-bombed towards Rose, who looked at him with determination burning in her eyes, enjoying the thrill of the battle.

'Leech Seed!' Oswin cried and Rose fired a seed at the Pidgey. His strength was sapped and absorbed by Rose, but the Pidgey still had enough strength to ram into her with a Tackle attack, fighting off the weeds that were trying to entrap him at the same time.

(I know Grass Types are less effective than normal when used against Flying Types, but I doubt Rose's Tackle will be enough here)

'Vine Whip!' Oswin shouted and snarling, Rose obeyed begrudgingly, just knowing that her Tackle would have been a better choice. Nevertheless, the Vine Whip hit its mark and Pidgey lost some more HP points, before the Leech Seed stole even more of them, restoring a little of Rose's health in the process.

'Use Sand Attack!' Gary cried, desperate to try and stop Rose in her tracks. Pidgey mimicked the O.L Pidgey's earlier manoeuvre, and Rose blinked as she pawed at her eyes, trying to remove the dirt from them. Pidgey lost even more health due to the Leech Seed.

_(This is it, one more attack and Pidgey should be down for the count)_

'Vine Whip again!' Oswin tried but Rose missed due to having her accuracy lowered. Pidgey hit her with a Tackle, but then the last of his strength was zapped from him, healing Rose whilst Pidgey fell unconscious, landing much like the O.L Pidgey with a clunk as it hit the ground.

_(Ha, one down, one to go… and if I know my brother, I bet he kept his Squirtle on his team. This next match will be a piece of cake!)_

Gary recalled his Pidgey, congratulating it on a job well done, before he released his Squirtle, who seemed a lot more confident this time around. It was only to be expected, seeing as he had grown to level 9 now. But Rose was still stronger, and Oswin still had the Mankey as a backup. This match was over.

'Leech Seed!' Oswin started and Rose managed to hit Squirtle with a Leech Seed.

'Uh oh, that seed's gonna zap our strength Squirtle! It already did it to Pidgey, so you need to work fast, use Bubble!' Gary yelled and Squirtle spat a barrage of exploding bubbles towards Rose. They burst like bombs on contact, but due to being a grass type, Rose was barely affected by them.

'Tackle!' Oswin commanded and Rose darted forwards, slamming herself into Squirtle and knocking the water pokemon backwards, before he glowed green as more of his strength was stolen from him, used to restore Rose's at the same time.

'Use Tackle Squirtle!' Gary tried in vain to turn this battle around, but it had already been decided.

'Vine Whip!' Oswin yelled, and with a Super effective Vine Whip which inflicted double damage, Squirtle hit the ground, unconscious like his team member. Rose grew to Level 11 from the battle.

'Good work Rose, you did it!' Oswin praised her and Rose smirked smugly to herself.

'Bulbasaur'_ (I don't know why it surprises you anymore – probably because you're just a stupid moron)_

'Oh, we lost. Oh well, nice try Squirtle, return' Gary recalled his pokemon before turning to his brother.

'You just lucked out Oz, but here's your winnings' Gary said, before he handed Oswin £144 for winning the match. Oswin quickly stored the money away in his bag to use at a later date.

'Thanks Gazz, so what are you going to do now?' Oswin wondered and Gary looked past his twin, a far off look of longing in his eyes.

'I heard that the Pokémon League is crawling with tough trainers. Not only do you have to get through Victory Road, but there's also the tournament to win, not to mention the Elite Four you have to beat if you want to challenge the Champion. I have to figure out how to win the tournament and get past the Elite Four if I want to be Kanto's new Champion. I don't suppose it matters for you though, considering you don't want to be a trainer. But aren't you on an assignment for Gramps? You should quit dawdling here and get a move on!' Gary told Oswin sternly, and without waiting for a reply, Gary took off running back in the direction of Viridian City, leaving Oswin standing there looking after him.

_(Blimey, there's a lot to do if you want to be the Champion. I'm glad I'm not a trainer if you have to work that hard for it. I'm happier being a writer anyway. But I suppose Gary's right. I do need to get a move on if I ever want to get back to Pallet Town and my writing! This is all that brat's fault; I've wasted some much time out here because of him)_

His anger at the little boy returning in full force, Oswin headed after his twin in the direction of Viridian City. First he was going to rip that brat a new world, and then, if he had enough time, head out into the Viridian Forest so that the whole day wasn't a complete waste. But strange as it was, Oswin couldn't help but be pleased that he had beat his brother in battle. Why though still remained a mystery to him.

…

Oswin was just walking back into Viridian City when he spotted him. Rage flooded his mind, and with his teeth and fists clenched in fury, Oswin began to run, like a rapid Houndour after a Sentret to devour it.

'OI! HEY YOU!' he screamed as he weaved around several confused and even frightened civilians of Viridian. Oswin's prey looked up at him, gave a squeak of surprise, before darting off down the street.

'OH NO YOU DON'T!' Oswin yelled furiously, and putting on a burst of speed, Oswin jumped over a mailbox and landed with a thump on his target's back, pinning him to the ground beneath him. It was the boy from before, the one that had given Oswin the wrong directions.

'Got ya! You little sneak! Just what do you think you were doing, giving me the wrong directions, on purpose no less?!' Oswin demanded as he grabbed the kid by the ear and dragged him to his feet. The boy whimpered, sniffled, and tears began pouring down his face.

_(He must be kidding if he thinks I'm falling for that!)_

'Save your Totodile Tears kid, I've not even started on you yet!' Oswin spat and the boy scowled his fake crying put to an end almost instantly. A small crowd was beginning to form around Oswin now, and yet nobody was making a move to stop him from his tirade against the little trouble maker.

'You big jerk! When my dad comes he'll…' the boy started angrily.

'Get a mouthful from me for raising such a little shit like you!' Oswin cut over him loudly, and the boy's mouth dropped open in shock. It was obvious he had never been spoken to like this before. Behind the furious teenager, several of the civilians that were watching sniggered, whilst some of the older ones shook their heads at his choice of words. Oswin pinched the kid's ear a little harder, beginning to shake him slightly. He was just so angry. Oswin never liked pranks very much, and he had wasted so much time because of this little brat's idiotic sense of humour.

'Just what would you have done if I had got lost, or hurt, eh? Or attacked by pokemon?' Oswin narrowed his eyes and the kid smirked.

'Probably have laughed a lot' he said snidely and Oswin grinned darkly.

_(Ok, he had his chance. Now it's time to teach this brat a lesson he'll never forget)_

'Really? So you think getting attacked by wild pokemon is funny do you? Does that make you laugh kid? Well then this should really have you splitting your sides!' Oswin laughed loudly as he grabbed one of the pokeballs pinned to his belt and hurled it through the air.

Rose appeared in a flash and grinned evilly. As much as she despised her trainer, and how funny she found it to learn that he had been outsmarted by a youngster now less, Rose had been surprised by her trainer when he suggested teaching the little brat a lesson. It was out of character for him, but Rose actually found herself liking him a little better for it. It showed that he had a determined, vengeful side, and that was something Rose could respect, no matter how twisted that may be. Plus, it couldn't hurt HER to have something with no means of protection to train against.

'Vine Whip!' Oswin barked and Rose's evil grin widened as two whips extended from her bulb. The little boy gaped at Oswin in stunned horror.

'What?! You can't be serious!' he gasped in panic.

'You said getting attacked by pokemon was funny' Oswin smiled down at him with a mockingly-sweet tone in his voice. He snapped his fingers, and the assault began.

Rose's vine struck the kid's cheek, leaving a red mark there. The boy cried out in pain, and his hand flew up to the sore spot, but Rose didn't stop. Her vines were dancing through the air with such precision that not a single movement was wasted. Soon enough, the kid was crying and struggling to remove Oswin's grip on his ear so that he could flee, but he was too weak to fight the older boy off.

Many of the crowd were watching, some amused, some concerned about how far this was going, but still, nobody was willing to stop him. Finally, after a full three minutes of butt whooping, Oswin knew it was time to end this.

'That's enough Rose, thank you for your assistance' Oswin said and Rose scowled. She had been enjoying that! But still, she relented and retracted her vines into her bulb, still glaring at the boy though. With a hard shove, Oswin sent the boy flying to the ground. He curled his arms around his knees, tears, real tears, streaming down his face, as he looked up at Oswin fearfully.

'Do you _still_ think it's funny now? Did _that_ have you laughing?' Oswin asked darkly and the kid gulped, shaking his head frantically. His arms and face were covered in scratches and bruises.

'N…no' he whimpered. Oswin smirked in satisfaction.

_(Then clearly I've done this kid a world of wonder. Hopefully that little pounding's enough to snap him out of his bullshit before it's too late for him… not that I care of course, I'm not some golden Samaritan or anything, he just really deserved it)_

'Good, because let me tell you something kid, there's a reason The Pokémon League only let fifteen year olds or people older be legitimate pokemon trainers that can travel the region. Its dangerous stuff, and your little prank could have had a different ending if I didn't have any pokeballs with me' Oswin leaned down so that he was towering over the kid. He knew he was being mean, and perhaps even scary, but he wanted to show this brat just how stupid his prank had been.

'What do you mean?' the kid sniffled, looking a little afraid of the answer.

'What I mean is that because of you, I was sent into an area with no idea what to expect and with no plan in mind, and because of that fact, I was completely surprised when a Mankey showed up before me. It physically attacked me, and if I hadn't have had any pokeballs with me, it might have broken my neck or even killed me!' Oswin told him and the boy's eyes widened in horrified shock. He let out a few more tears, gulped for air, and then opened his mouth to speak.

'I… I'm really sorry. I… I never thought of anything like that before' the kid admitted in a trembling voice. But Oswin wasn't finished yet. He really wanted his point to hit home.

'I think we can agree on that. But there's something else as well. Take a look around you, what do you see?' Oswin asked and the kid obeyed him, looking around to see just how many people were watching this scene playing out.

'Lots of people?' the kid said unsurely and Oswin nodded in confirmation.

'And not a single one of them came to help you or to stop me… why do you think that is?' Oswin asked, pretending to be thoughtful. The kid's face contorted with effort, but he slowly shrugged his shoulders, unable to find the answer. So Oswin delivered it, cold and hard.

'Because they believe you deserve it. You've pulled pranks on them as well, haven't you? And they think you deserve what you got here today, and I do too. Now, am I going to have to set Rose on you again or have you learnt something today?' Oswin demanded and the boy gulped again, before he frantically shook his head.

'N…no mister! I'm really sorry, and I won't play pranks anymore! I'm really sorry mister!' the kid yelped and Oswin grinned darkly at him.

'Good. Now scam, before I set my other pokemon on you!' Oswin threatened and the kid squealed in fear again, before he took off sprinting down the street and out of sight. There was a moment of silence, before the crowd began applauding. Oswin blushed as he looked at them.

'Well said young man, well said' a middle-aged woman patted him on the back.

'You were right kid, that brat's had that coming for a long time!' a man of roughly twenty cheered.

'I do wonder if that was really necessary, but I will admit that you taught him a valuable lesson young man. I hope you've set him on the right path again' an old man nodded at him.

'Normally I'd have arrested you for that little stunt, but that kid's been a thorn in my side for years and I can't do a thing to bring him to justice due to his age so I'll let you off with a warning this time. Just don't do it again, ok? I'd hated to have to place you under arrest but I will if I have too' a police woman dressed in a blue uniform, Officer Jenny her name was, warned him sternly.

'Good job cutie! Why that little brat put an Antidote in the place of my Burn Heal last week, and I applied the wrong medicine to my pokemon because of it! I'm glad you did that to him! It sure showed him up for his stupid pranks' a pretty female teenage trainer called out to him.

Oswin blushed from all the attention, but soon enough everybody was falling back into their business again and going about their day as normal. Oswin was about to leave, when he quickly stopped a man in a blue business suit. The man congratulated Oswin on his little show back there. Apparently that kid had pulled the same stunt on him and caused the man to be late to a very important meeting with the directors of his firm.

Oswin asked him the real way to Viridian Forest and Route 2, and the man revealed that the entrance was located in the North of the town and not in the west. Oswin thanked him, stopped by the Pokémon centre for one third and final visit, before he began running northwards, determined to try and make up some of the time he had wasted, both in going through Route 22 and teaching that brat a lesson he wouldn't forget in a hurry.

He didn't get very far however before he was interrupted again, this time by an old man that was gingerly getting to his feet, having previously being sprawled out across the floor. There was a blue mug of coffee clutched in his old withered hand.

_(Why the hell was an old man lying on the floor anyway? Ooh… oh god, please tell me he wasn't fucking an old lady there… that is SO gross, old people shagging in public… or shagging at all!)_

Oswin was about to walk past him, but the man turned to him and began conversing with Oswin as if they had already been having a conversation. They hadn't, which was why Oswin was somewhat confused by what the man was jabbering on about.

'Well, now, I've had my coffee, and that's what I need to get going!' the man greeted Oswin cheerfully.

_(Yeah, this guy was definitely shagging someone out here if he needs coffee to get back on his feet… that is so… ew! OH MY GOD! What if he hasn't been shagging someone… but it's ME he wants?! That creepy old paedophile… I'd better get out of here!)_

'Err…' was all Oswin had to say to that seemingly random comment. Oswin was about to side-step the man and make a run for it, but at that moment that man noticed Oswin's pokedex poking out of his jean's pocket and quirked an intrigued eyebrow at the young 'Not-Trainer'.

'Hm? What is that purple box you have?' the old man inquired

_(Purple box? Oh, he must mean my Pokedex. But wait a moment… that's sticking out of my jeans' pocket… Oh god! He's actually eyeing up my legs! He has GOT to be a paedophile!)_

'It's…my Poke…Pokedex' Oswin stuttered out, fumbling slightly as he took a nervous step back, waiting to run but not wanting to spook the man into doing anything to him. The man grinned creepily at him.

'Ah, so you're working on your pokedex. Then let me give you a word of advice. Whenever you catch a pokemon, the pokedex automatically updates its data' the Old Man explained.

'Right… thanks' Oswin nodded, anxious to get away from this creepy old perv. Obviously Oswin knew all that already. Just because he didn't study pokemon as extensively as his peers, that didn't mean he was stupid, plus Professor Oak had already explained all this to him.

'You don't know how to catch a pokemon?' the man inquired.

_(What? I didn't say that! And just how thick does he think I am?! I may be blonde, but I'm not a bimbo, thank you very much!)_

'Actually I d-' Oswin began but the Old Man cut him off.

'I suppose I had better show you then!' the Old Man said heroically, and before Oswin could utter another word, the man spun on the spot and his eyes landed on a small bug pokemon crawling out of a nearby bush. Oswin looked at it too. The pokemon was small, brown in shading, and appeared to be made of small round spheres. It had a small sharp poisonous horn and a big fuzzy red nose. It blinked its beady black eyes up at them both.

'Weedle!' (Humans? They look kinda funny!) the Weedle giggled.

The old man didn't bother battling the Weedle. It was only level 5 after all. Instead he rummaged around in his trouser pocket, making quite a show of it and at one point he appeared to misplace his hand and tugged at something else, which Oswin was trying REALLY hard not to think about, before he withdrew a pokeball and flung it at the Weedle.

The Weedle was sucked inside and the ball shook for a few moments before the lock sealed, and the Old Man caught the Weedle. He turned to Oswin expectantly, as if what he had just done was some kind of monumental act in the history of pokemon.

'There! Now tell me, that was educational, was it not?' the Old Man grinned slyly at Oswin, who was now wishing to be ANYWHERE else but where he currently was. Even sitting in the centre of a volcano would do!

'Err?' was all Oswin could say. The Old Man stepped forward, tightly gripping the sleeve of Oswin's hoodie. Oswin frowned darkly.

'Let go of my arm please' he said icily. The man didn't let go.

'Tell me, wasn't that amazing? Tell me, did you find that impressive?' the Man leered at him, grabbing Oswin's other arm and pushing him up against the wall of a nearby house. Oswin began struggling, and was about to call out for help, when the man covered Oswin's mouth with his hand. Oswin let out a muffled scream which didn't even reach his own ears, never mind anyone else's.

'Hush now… tell me, did I help you at all?' the man whispered darkly, and Oswin, wanting him to stop, slowly nodded, hoping that if the man heard what he wanted to hear he'd back off. The Old Man didn't. In fact, his smirk widened if anything.

'So I helped you? Good… now, maybe you wouldn't mind doing a favour for me…' the Old Man smiled a very crooked, evil smile. He pressed himself up against Oswin, and much to the teenager's horror, began rubbing himself up against him. Oswin, in full panic mode now, did the only think he could think of. He bit down hard on the Old Man's hand, drawing a satisfying yelp of pain from the pervert, before Oswin head butted him in the face, hopefully shattering his nose. Something red fell out of the Old Man's pocket as he stumbled backwards, and taking his chance, Oswin instinctively caught the red thing before he was running faster than he had ever ran before in his life.

(I… oh god… oh shit… did that actually just happen?! Fucking hell… oh my god… oh god!)

Oswin didn't stop until he was out of Viridian City. He was NOT going to go back there anytime soon, not unless he really HAD to and even then it would be extremely dire circumstances which would convince him to go back. Once he was in Route 2, Oswin finally stopped, and then the reality of what had just happened to him sank in.

He turned on the spot and promptly threw up in a small berry bush. For a full three minutes Oswin was wretching, and by the time he withdrew his head, wiping the bile around his mouth away with the back of his hand, a few tears were swimming in Oswin's eyes.

_(Fucking hell! What the hell was that guy planning to do to me?! He wanted a favour… what, did he expect me to have sex with him? Or was he just going to rape me?!)_

At that thought, Oswin threw up again, and moaning pitifully, he withdrew his head from the bush again and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

_(Thank fucking God I got away in time. Why the hell is scum like that allowed to walk the streets?! That pervert deserves to be shot right through the head, the BASTARD!)_

To emotionally exhausted to go any further that evening, Oswin decided to stop and rest for the next. Pulling out his tent, Oswin quickly set it up and rolled out his sleeping bag in it. Too afraid after his encounter with that Pervert, Oswin decided to leave Rose out of her pokeball. She materialized out of her pokeball, and looked up at her trainer in annoyance.

'We're camping out tonight, and there's a pervert running around Viridian City so I want you to keep guard tonight, got it?' Oswin asked and Rose scowled.

'Bulbasaur! Bulb! Bulbasaur! (Oh, so I'm supposed to stay out all night just because you're a coward and there's a sick creep nearby?! Fine, I will, just don't expect me to fight the next time we run into a wild pokemon!)

Rose, still scowling, lay down near the door of the tent with her head poking out, keeping an eye out for anything coming close to them.

Sighing, Oswin fell back in his sleeping bag and fell into an uneasy sleep, one riddled with dreams of Old Men, unwanted sexual encounters, and the prospect of being raped. Needless to say, Oswin awoke screaming many times during that night.

…

Oswin's eyes wearily opened as sunlight flooded the tent the next morning. He groaned, rubbed at his red rimmed eyes and he stretched, cracking his shoulder muscles and his arms as he did so. He noticed that there were beads of sweat running down his forehead and that a cold sheen of sweat was covering his body. Oswin shook his head, trying to cast that bastard out of his mind.

Not wanting to be near Viridian City at the moment, not with that paedophile in close vicinity, Oswin decided to leave the area as soon as possible. He rolled his eyes when he noticed that Rose had fallen asleep.

'Gee, I'm so glad I have you to protect me from perverts' he shook his head, nudging the sleeping Bulbasaur with his foot to wake her up. Rose growled up at him as her eyes opened.

'Bulb?!' (WHAT?!) She spat at him. Rose was NOT a morning Bulbasaur after all. Oswin rolled his eyes. He was tired, he was hungry, he was scared. He was NOT in the mood for her attitude right now.

'Return' he grumbled darkly and Rose glowered at him as she vanished into her pokeball. Oswin quickly dismantled his tent and rolled up his sleeping bag. Once they were both packed away in his bag, he set off. Quickly.

Due to his heightened emotional state the night before, Oswin hadn't looked around Route 2 very much, but it was much the same as Route 1. Trees, Bushes, and a large patch of grass formed most of the route; however there was also one of those ledges you could jump down.

Even the pokemon reflected those of Route 1. The pokemon available in Route 2 were Rattata and Pidgey between level 2 and 5, but there were some new types available as well. Caterpie and Weedle, two bug types, were also common to find in Route 2, but Oswin wasn't overly concerned about catching either of them.

As he was walking, Oswin frowned as his fingers felt something cool and metallic in his pocket. Curious, Oswin pulled the object out and his eyes widened as he realised it was that red thing he had accidently stolen from that pervert. He noted that it was an item called a Teachy TV, a small handheld portable television that only held programmes based on how to be a good trainer.

_(Oh shit, I shouldn't have this! I **stole** it… but, what's that guy gonna do? Go to Officer Jenny? HA! If he even tries it I'll have his arse thrown in jail for attempted rape… but what the hell am I supposed to do with this thing… I guess I should just keep it)_

Sighing, Oswin stowed the Teachy TV into his bag. What was his alternative? Go back to Viridian and give it back to that bastard, putting himself in sexual danger in the process? Not fucking likely!

Oswin didn't bother to stop and train the pokemon with him against the wild Pokémon of Route 2. He was confident that Rose and the O.L Pidgey could handle any Weedle and Caterpie in the Viridian Forest easily, and he was hopeful that the O.L Mankey would have calmed down after a night's rest. Hopefully it wouldn't attack him the moment he let it out at any rate.

Oswin spotted the gate leading into the Viridian Forest just up ahead of him, and he stepped inside eagerly, wanting to get through the forest so that he would hopefully reach Pewter City by nightfall. He didn't want to have to camp out again. Oswin really wasn't much of a nature boy at heart plus he much preferred sleeping in a warm bed.

He found himself in a small indoor corridor, and the only people in there were a middle aged woman and a young girl a little younger than Oswin. Since the girl was closest, Oswin approached her first. She looked up at him and began speaking before Oswin could even open his mouth.

'Rattata may be small, but don't underestimate its wicked bite. Have you caught one already?' the girl wondered. Oswin shook his head.

'No, I haven't. Rattata don't really appeal to me very much, but if I do catch one someday, I'll be careful. Thanks for the heads up' Oswin nodded at her, before heading on over to the woman.

'Are you going to Viridian Forest?' she asked worriedly.

_(Well duh! Why else would I be in here you idiot?!)_

'Yes I am' Oswin confirmed and the woman bit her lip nervously.

'It's a natural maze in there. Be careful you don't get lost' she warned him anxiously.

'I'll do my best not to' Oswin nodded at her, appreciative of her concern for those passing through, before he began walking towards the opposite exit, the one that would take him onwards to the forest and not the one leading back out into Route 2.

As soon as he stepped out into Viridian Forest, Oswin pulled at the neck of his hoodie. It was like a tropical jungle in there, it was so humid and hot. The chirping and clicking of insect pokemon could clearly be heard coming from every direction, and the branches overhead formed a blanket of leaves, holding in the heat and blocking out the sun, making Viridian Forest incredibly dark despite the fact that it was a beautiful summer's day.

_(Right, all I need to do is get through this place as fast as possible, and then I'll be able to go home… I just hope I don't run out of Potions or Antidotes. The last thing I need is to be forced to return to the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City, especially not with that fucking paedophile on the loose!)_

Oswin took a step forwards, out of the gate and into the grassy forest, and he jumped as a twig snapped under his foot with a crack that seemed to echo. A flurry of Pidgey could be heard overhead, spooked by the noise and alerted to his presence. Oswin shook his head. All the wild pokemon in this forest were pretty weak, so he didn't have anything to worry about.

He noticed that just up ahead of him there was a kid, dressed much like the guy Oswin had tipped off about the free potion, standing in front of a tree, examining it closely. Curious as to what he was doing, Oswin approached him.

_(He's facing a tree… of god; I hope to hell that he isn't taking a piss! Seeing a guy's dick in the forest is not something on my agenda today, nor is being arrested for suspected cottaging!)_

'Hey, what are you doing?' Oswin called over to him and the boy turned to face him.

'I came here with some friends to catch us some Bug Pokémon! They're all itching to get into some pokemon battles!' he told Oswin happily.

'But… where are they?' Oswin asked, looking around for any signs of any other humans nearby. There were none. Oswin and the boy were completely only. There wasn't even a pokemon in sight. The boy looked around too, before he let out an 'Eek' of surprise.

'I can't believe this! They ditched me! Argh!' the boy growled in frustration as he ran off into the forest, no doubt hoping to track down his 'friends' so he could give them a piece of his mind. Oswin watched his go, amusement tugging at his lips.

_(He must be pretty dense not to notice that they'd left without him… at least he wasn't pissing on the tree, thank fucking god!)_

Oswin was about to move on, when he spotting something caught in a knot on the tree, a sort plastic bottle with a nozzle on the top. It was an Antidote. Oswin pulled it free and held it up to his eye.

_(I wonder if that boy accidently left this behind… oh well, he's gone and it's mine now)_

That was the way of the pokemon world. If it touched the ground, anyone was free to pick it up and keep it. There had been a huge legal debate several years ago, but the Pokémon League had had the final word in the end. It actually made trainers' journeys easier and more fun too, because you could go further without having to head back to a pokemon centre. Either way, Oswin was keeping the Antidote. He stashed it away in his bag for later. He now had five of them.

_(Which way should I go now… left or right?)_

Oswin decided to go left, and eventually he ran into a wall of trees that cut him off completely, forcing him to head north instead. He had only been walking for about ten minutes before he encountered his first pokemon in the forest.

The creature was tiny in comparison to Oswin, and it was a pleasant olive green in colour. There were yellow circular markings on its body, and it had a red Y shaped horn between it large buggy black eyes. It was a Caterpie, a very common Bug Type pokemon found mainly in Kanto and Johto.

Knowing that for practicality's sak e if nothing else, having a pokemon that could fly him around would be a very useful asset for Oswin to have, and for that reason only, Oswin decided to fight the Caterpie with the O.L Pidgey.

_(OK, so I'm not a trainer or someone that's planning on entering the Pokémon League. That doesn't mean I can't train up this Pidgey into a Pidgeotto and hopefully be able to fly around on it. That'll make any more assignments that require long distance travel MUCH easier)_

Oswin had Pidgey use Tackle, which took out half of the level 3 Caterpie's HP. The Caterpie also used Tackle when Pidgey stooped low enough, but it only did minimal damage to the flying type. Another Tackle and the match was over, with Pidgey claiming victory. Pidgey gained some Exp but didn't level up yet. Getting Pidgey to evolve into a Pidgeotto would take a fair bit of work Oswin realised, but he was hopeful that it would be worth it in the end.

Oswin continued heading north, but a twist in the trees forced him to head west again, and that was when he encountered a cocoon like pokemon that was bright yellow in colouring. It had a dome shaped head and no appendages. It dropped down out of a tree, hanging by a thread, and glared at Oswin. It was a level 6 Kakuna, the evolved form of Weedle and the mid-way evolutionary form of Beedrill.

Oswin let out a sigh. He could just tell that he'd have to fight off about a million bugs before he got out of this place. Still, if Pidgey evolved as a result, Oswin would be back home in Pallet Town before the day was done.

He used Pidgey again, but this time it took a grand total of **_seven_** Tackles to finally take down the Kakuna, which only used Harden, drawing out the losing battle for much longer than necessary. Thankfully, Pidgey grew to level 6 due to the Exp he gained.

_(Thank fucking god for that! What kind of dick-head pokemon only uses Harden anyway… and that move should SO have been called something else! I mean 'Harden'… that sounds so… wrong to shout out! Guys harden an appendage, NOT pokemon, at least, not outside of mating season!)_

Oswin ran into another dead end in the forest, but he found a discarded pokeball in the grass which he added to the stash of them in his bag, bringing their total up to six. He knew that due to his touch, that new pokeball would now be registered to him as well; meaning that if he used it, the pokemon caught would legally be his. He would have to be careful to ensure that didn't happen. Rose was **more** than enough pokemon for Oswin, thank you very much.

Realising that he had walked into a dead end with no way forwards, Oswin doubled back and found a small path leading east that he had missed the first time he had walked that way.

_(This place is so fucking confusing! It's bloody frustrating! No wonder it's so easy to get lost in here!)_

Unfortunately the new path twisted in a way that forced Oswin to head south, and so not ten minutes later, he was right next to the gate again. Needless to say, Oswin was not very happy about that all.

'Fucking shit! I'm right back where I started! I went in a full fucking circle!' he yelled, startling several more Pidgey that where nesting high up in the trees. Positively fuming by this point, Oswin turned right where he had turned left originally, but he had barely taken a few steps forwards before he encountered a level 4 Weedle. Oswin had Pidgey Tackle it twice, but the Weedle used Poison Sting both times in response, and the second one poisoned Pidgey, making him glow purple as his HP depleted.

'Damn it, finish it with Tackle' Oswin called and Pidgey chirped weakly as it used Tackle on the Weedle one more time, knocking it unconscious and growing to level 7 as a result.

Pidgey weakly flew back over to Oswin, before landing on his shoulder, whimpering in pain. Oswin quickly pulled an Antidote out of his bag and sprayed Pidgey with it, eliminating its poisoning and making Pidgey chirp happily, relieved that the painful substance had been removed from his bloodstream.

Oswin walked on a while longer, before he noticed a boy dressed in a green outfit wearing a blue cap looking around in some bushes. As Oswin approached, the boy looked up, and immediately struck up a conversation.

'I was throwing pokeballs to catch wild pokemon, and I ran out! That's why you can never have too many pokeballs' the boy complained and Oswin quirked an eyebrow at him.

'I guess it depends on the person. I myself don't really catch too many pokemon, but I'm sure you'll find another of whatever it was you were trying to catch' Oswin offered him, trying to sound sympathetic but in reality he honestly didn't care.

'I doubt it… Pikachu are really uncommon pokemon to find' he sighed before he returned to looking through the bushes.

_(If he's out of pokeballs, than why is he still out here in Viridian Forest? Why doesn't he go buy some more… unless he did and now he's trying to find a Pikachu again. Oh well, either way, I honestly couldn't care less)_

Oswin left the guy to his searching, but not before he picked up a Potion that somebody had dropped. He was finding free items all over the place! Unfortunately they were only trainer items and not of any value to a 'Not-trainer' like Oswin.

_(Damn it, why can't no one drop a mobile or an MP3 Player?! Then again… I shouldn't take one of those anyway, because then I'd be a thief since the Pokémon League only legalised the keeping of trainer items and not personal possessions… oh well, the world sucks, and I should just get used to that)_

Following the path, Oswin headed north through a different path in the trees, but he didn't make it very far before he bumped into another person, a young Bug Catcher going by the name of Rick. As soon as he spotted Oswin, he ran in front of the older boy, blocking his path.

'Hey! You have pokemon! Come on! Let's battle them!' he cried, and before Oswin could even blink he released a level 6 Weedle. Oswin sighed. It was only a matter of time before he was challenged to a battle he couldn't walk away from.

_(If the league raised the training age limit to fifteen, than how do these youngsters even get their pokemon?! Oh, of course, there's that loophole in the law! Only fifteen year old trainers could take on **the league.** There's nothing stopping anyone younger catching or raising a pokemon. They just can't use them to enter Gym battles. And without the badges, they can't enter the league. Most people under that age don't bother since they can't really achieve much before being allowed to enter the league, but apparently this Rick guy isn't one of them)_

'If you insist, just don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a kid. Go Pidgey, use Tackle!' Oswin cried and Pidgey appeared in a flash. He swooped down on the Weedle; hitting him with a powerful Tackle that inflicted a third's worth of damage on Weedle.

The Bug Type trainer ordered his pokemon to use String Shot, which caused Pidgey's wings to get sticky and his movements to slow down drastically. Oswin ordered Pidgey to use Tackle, but now the Weedle was faster, and it hit Pidgey with a Poison Sting. Pidgey ended up being poisoned again, but thankfully he managed to get a Critical Hit which knocked Weedle out. Pidgey grew to level 8 from the match. Rick returned his Weedle.

'I'm not done yet! Go Caterpie!' Rick cried, and another level 6 pokemon, this time a Caterpie appeared as their opponent. Oswin was worried now. Pidgey was slower than usual, poisoned, AND at less than half health. He decided to switch into Rose to finish off the rest of Rick's pokemon.

'Pidgey, good job, return for now. Go Rose!' Oswin cried and Rose appeared, pleased to have a chance to battle something she hadn't yet faced before. She narrowed her scarlet eyes on the Caterpie.

_(Since Rose is a Poison Type as well as a Grass Type, she shouldn't get poisoned like Pidgey did. I don't think Caterpie has any poisonous attacks, but it's better to be safe than sorry though. The rest of this match should hopefully be a piece of piss!)_

'Rose, use Leech Seed!' he ordered, just to ensure that Caterpie would at least take some definite damage every turn. Rose fired off a seed from her bulb which hit its mark with precision. Rick ordered Caterpie to use Tackle, which it did, but then Caterpie was drained of its health and the tiny amount of damaged it had inflicted on Rose was restored to her.

'Vine Whip!' Oswin cried and after Rose slapped Caterpie with her whips, the small bug pokemon had just over half its HP left. It used Tackle again, but then the Leech Seed kicked in again, meaning that once again, Rose's HP was restored to its full amount.

'Vine Whip again!' Oswin ordered and with another Vine Whip to the face, Caterpie was left with a single HP point left. Rick tried to pull the match around by having Caterpie use String shot, in the hopes of slowing down Rose long enough to counter, but then the Leech Seed zapped the remains of Caterpie's health, and the Bug pokemon fainted. Rose smiled broadly. That had been too easy. Oswin thanked her for her efforts before returning her.

'No! Caterpie can't hack it!' Rick cried in horror, picking up his Caterpie and hugging it.

'I'd recommend training your Weedle and Caterpie up into their evolved forms. Beedrill and Butterfree are much stronger than their pre-evolved forms' Oswin informed him and Rick's shoulders slumped.

'I guess I got a little ahead of myself, taking on trainers with just a Weedle and Caterpie… oh well' he mumbled. He gave Oswin £72 for his victory before he left, heading in what Oswin presumed was the exit leading to Viridian City, no doubt to go heal up his pokemon.

Oswin quickly used another Antidote on Pidgey, healing his poisoning again. He also used a Potion to restore the tiny bird back to full health. Once Pidgey was back in fighting order, Oswin headed onwards through some more grass, only to run straight into a level 5 Metapod. Metapod was a long, olive green cocoon like pokemon with a pointed head. It blinked its yellow eyes up at Oswin lazily.

'Great, another pokemon that only uses Harden… oh well, go Pidgey!' Oswin cried. This time it only took five Tackles before the defensive menace was knocked out, and soon enough Oswin was heading onwards again. He didn't bother returning Pidgey this time. There was no point returning him and calling him out for every single battle so he decided to just keep him out.

They were about to reach another twist in the path, but before they managed to round the corner, another Bug catcher spotted them, and this one was called Doug.

'Yo! You can't jam out if you're a Pokémon Trainer!' Doug called out in a smug voice as he blocked Oswin's path and Oswin frowned in confusion.

'Jam out? Who uses that expression anymore?' he couldn't help but wonder but Doug wasn't paying any attention to him. Instead, he was busy calling out his pokemon, which just so happened to be a level 7 Weedle.

_(That's strange. I thought Weedle evolved at level 7… oh well, I guess that just means that this Doug guy stopped it from evolving into Kakuna for some reason)_

'You know the drill by now Pidgey' Oswin said and Pidgey crowed loudly as it hovered down in front of the Weedle. Pidgey immediately used Tackle, and much to Oswin and Doug's surprise, he got a Critical Hit which almost wiped Weedle out. Weedle managed to use Poison Sting but one more Tackle was too much for it. Pidgey claimed victory, and grew to level 9 as a result. He also learnt Gust

_(Bloody hell, he's levelling up so fast! I'll have a Pidgeotto to fly me home before nightfall! And with that Gust attack he'll be smashing Weedle and Caterpie all over the place! This is bloody brilliant… wait a minute, I shouldn't be so enthusiastic over this, it's training pokemon, not writing! What the hell has gotten into me lately?)_

'Weedle 1 return. Go Weedle 2!' Doug cried, letting out a second level 7 Weedle. Oswin smirked, and decided to try out Pidgey's new move.

'Use Gust!' he cried and Pidgey beat its wings together in a rapid blur of feathers, summoning up a powerful jet of air that struck Weedle, nearly KO-ing it. Weedle managed to hold on and fired a Poison Sting at Pidgey, which, Oswin could hardly believe it, poisoned him, AGAIN!

_(That is just… fucking hell! I'm glad I bought all those Antidotes now! That move is such a piece of crap!)_

'Finish it with Tackle!' Oswin cried and Pidgey effortlessly knocked the Weedle out, but he was also hurt by the poison. Doug recalled his second Weedle and held up his third and final pokeball, and seeing as Pidgey was almost at full health even with his poison status, Oswin decided to keep him in.

'I know it hurts but hold on in there just a bit longer' Oswin said encouragingly and Pidgey managed to nod, fighting through the poison targeting his vital organs. Doug called out a level 7 Kakuna, and wanting this match over as quickly as possible, Oswin had Pidgey use Gust, which took out over half of Kakuna's HP. Kakuna used Harden, shockingly, and with one final Gust, Pidgey ended the match and grew to level 10.

'Huh? I ran out of pokemon!' Doug cried in shock.

'Then I guess that means I win' Oswin smirked at him and Doug grumbled in defeat. He handed Oswin £84 before he dashed out of there, no doubt to go heal up his pokemon.

Oswin used another Antidote on Pidgey. He was getting a little worried now about all these Weedle, but he had faith that Pidgey could handle them. And even if Pidgey fainted, he always had Rose as back-up. Hopefully he wouldn't have to rely on that Mankey, or else he might just die out in this forest.

Oswin continued onwards for a short way, before he spotted an Antidote on the ground, and grinning, he quickly placed it in his bag. He now had only three of them.

_(That was a lucky find. I'm running out of these Antidotes too quickly. I'm so glad that girl warned me about this back in the Viridian Pokemart or else this forest would be too hard to get through!)_

Oswin resumed his walking, turning left as the path bent that way, but dipping south again into a new pathway. It then twisted northwards again and Oswin followed it, hopefully that this way would lead him to the exit. Before he got very far though, he ran into yet another trainer; however this one wasn't a Bug Catcher. He was dressed in strange armour and headwear and he was clutching, Oswin gulped, a Samurai Sword in his hand. Oswin hoped that the guy wasn't about to plunge that sword into his heart as the strange boy approached him.

'Are you from Pallet Town?' he asked in a solemn voice and Oswin nervously nodded his head, too nervous to speak in case the guy was a murderer or something.

'Then I challenge you to a match' he said, drawing out a pokeball. He threw it, and it let out a level 7 Metapod. Pidgey jumped off Oswin's shoulder and flew forwards.

'Gust!' Pidgey pulled off another gust that almost wiped the Metapod out, but the cocoon held on just long enough to use Harden. It was no match for Pidgey's power though, and a simple Tackle was more than enough to knock it out. Pidgey grew to level 11.

The Samurai returned his defeated Metapod, and moments later a level 7 Kakuna was in its place.

'Gust again!' Oswin cried and due to his increase in level, Pidgey was able to One-Hit KO the Kakuna, much to the Samurai's shock and irritation.

'Is that all of them, or do you have any more?' Oswin asked him, anxious to get away from this guy and his sword. After that encounter with the paedophile in Viridian City, Oswin was a little more wary of strangers now, especially when they wielded weapons so blatantly.

'I still have one more that can fight, go Pinsir!' the Samurai yelled, and this time Oswin was actually interested in the pokemon that materialized before him. It was oval shaped and was chocolate brown in its colouring. It had two lethal looking spiked horns forming a pincer above its body, and its eyes were narrowed on Oswin and Pidgey dangerously. This pokemon was much stronger than your common Weedle and Caterpie. This was a specimen that showed exactly what type of strength a Bug Pokémon was truly capable of being. This Pinsir was at level 10

'A Pinsir? I haven't fought one of those before… they aren't native to this forest are they?' Oswin asked curiously. He was actually hoping they weren't , because if they were then no doubt his grandfather would order him to catch one, and those horns were NOT something Oswin fancied being on the wrong side of. Thankfully, the Samurai shook his head.

'They are not. Pinsir are native to the Safari Zone located in Fuchsia City, and even there they are sparse. It took me a very long time to catch one' the Samurai informed Oswin, who nodded his understanding. He had heard of the Safari Zone of course, and he knew that many unusual and rare pokemon had been sighted there. He hadn't known that Pinsir were amongst them however.

'Right, Pidgey, this one is stronger than the others, so be careful!' Oswin warned the flying type, who nodded in understanding.

'Pinsir, use Vice Grip!' the Samurai ordered and faster than Pidgey could dodge, Pinsir grabbed Pidgey with his twin horns and squeezed tightly. Pidgey squawked loudly, clearly in pain, but managed to pull off a Gust attack that weakened Pinsir. Oswin looked at Pidgey worriedly. That Pinsir was strong, too strong for Pidgey no matter how many levels he had grown.

'Pidgey return, Rose you've got a big one!' Oswin decided to switch out. Pidgey was pleased to return to the safety of his O.L ball to rest up, and Rose was delighted when she spotted who her new challenger was.

'A Bulbasaur? I see… you were testing Pinsir's strength with that Pidgey and now you are bringing out your most elite fighter' the Samurai noted and Oswin just shrugged. If that guy wanted to think that who was Oswin to burst that bubble.

'Leech Seed!' Oswin cried, knowing that Rose's best shot was to follow what had become their usual fighting routine now. Rose managed to land a Leech Seed, before she managed to dodge a Vice Grip. Pinsir was drained of its HP, and Oswin ordered Rose to attack with Vine Whip.

'Use Seismic Toss!' the Samurai yelled and Pinsir grabbed Rose in his horns before he flung the Grass Type high into the air. Rose gasped as she fell back down to earth, and with no means of breaking her fall, she crashed straight into the ground. She shakily managed to get back to her feet, her body heavily bruised from the rough attack. Thankfully, the Leech Seed restored some of her lost HP, and with another Vine Whip around the face, Rose managed to take down the mighty Pinsir, growing to level 12 along with it. The Samurai sighed as he returned his final pokemon and gave Oswin £84 as his prize for winning.

'I seems as though I have been defeated. You are the third trainer from Pallet Town to defeat me this very day' the Samurai said miserably, whilst Oswin's eyebrows sky rocketed up his forehead.

'The third? You've battled some of the others? Who?' he asked curiously; wondering if Gary, Ash or Kathryn had headed this way and met with this guy.

'First I lost to a boy that looked a lot like you but fought with a Squirtle. Then just a single hour ago I lost to a young woman with a remarkably strong Charmander. Your Bulbasaur means that I've now lost to each of the three pokemon starters available to trainers in the Kanto region' the Samurai informed him.

'So you battled with Gary and Kathryn… err, I'm not sure if I should tell you this, but there's a fourth trainer from Pallet Town that will most likely pass through here at some point. He's got a Pikachu with him' Oswin told him and the Samurai's eyes brightened at the prospect of having yet another battle to fight in.

'Another trainer?! With an Electric type?! Then I must go heal up my pokemon and track him down. My friend, I wish you good fortunate in the days ahead of you. May you have many victories' the Samurai bowed at a bewildered Oswin, and before the blonde could utter another word, the Samurai sprinted off into the trees, screaming a strange sort of battle cry as he went.

_(Ok, that was very weird… but I guess if Gary and Kathryn are nearby than maybe I should try to catch up to them to see how they're doing and if they've caught anymore pokemon. I know that Gary has that Pidgey, but I'm willing to bet he has something else by now)_

Rose began growling at Oswin, and she nudged his ankle to remind him of her presence.

'Oops, sorry Rose. You did really well against that Pinsir' Oswin offered her and Rose rolled her eyes irritably.

'Bulbasaur' (That's it?! You forget all about me, and the best praise you have is 'you did really well'… you are such a wanker sometimes Moron!) She shook her head angrily.

Oswin sighed. It was obvious that Rose still hated him but he didn't mind that much. He wasn't all that fond of her either. And once this stupid assignment was over he could just stick her back in her pokeball and dump her in a desk draw, hopefully for a very long time. That would make Oswin a little happier at least.

Oswin returned Rose to her pokeball and continued on his way. The path twisted southwards again and Oswin followed it, positive that he was somewhere near the exit now. As the path bent to the left again, Oswin noticed a small clearing on the right which he ventured into, and to his good fortune, he found another Potion.

Once the Potion was securely in his bag, Oswin continued down the path, which suddenly twisted northwards again and Oswin watched right into another Bug Catcher, Bug Catcher Sammy to be precise.

'Hey! Wait up! What's the hurry? Why the rush?' he demanded to know and Oswin looked at him in confusion.

'I'm not rushing. I'd be running if I were rushing' Oswin pointed out to him but Sammy didn't reply. Instead, he was already calling out his pokemon, which just so happened to be a level 9 Weedle.

_(Ok, seriously, I'm getting sick of all these Weedle. If this one poisons Pidgey I'll fucking stomp on every single Weedle of them in this pissing forest!)_

'Pidgey, Gust' Oswin said almost boredly and Pidgey almost knocked out the Weedle in one attack. Thankfully, Weedle used String Shot rather than Poison Sting, and with a tiny Tackle, Pidgey knocked the Weedle out, ending the match before even a minute had passed.

'I give! You're good at this!' Sammy cried in shock as he returned his defeated Weedle. Oswin frowned thoughtfully at his words.

_(You know, we haven't lost a single match… in fact, the only times one of my team has fainted was when Mankey knocked out Pidgey and when we last battled Gary… he's right. I AM pretty good at this battling thing… but no! I DON'T want to be a trainer! I want to be a writer… even if I do have some talent at this… either way it doesn't matter)_

Oswin huffed to himself, angered by the internal debate raging inside his head. Sammy gave him £108 for winning as he left and Oswin thanked him before heading northbound up the path. A large grin lit up his face as Oswin spotted a gate, a gate which would take him out of this crappy forest and into Pewter City. At last, Oswin could finally return to a human settlement, hopefully a Paedophile-free one!

_(At fucking last! The end is in sight finally! HAHA! Viridian Forest and its poison status, you can both go burn in the deepest pits of hell! HAHA!)_

Oswin beamed in happiness, and began sprinting for the gate as though his life depended on it. He was about two feet away from it… and that was when the voice halted him in his tracks. Almost apoplectic with rage, Oswin was almost foaming at the mouth as he turned back as a familiar voice called out his name.

_(Of course. Of fucking course I'd meet one of them now! Just as I was about to leave. I don't flaming believe it! Actually I can, because it's just. My. Sodding. Luck!)_

Plastering a rather awkward grimace of a smile onto his face, Oswin turned to see Kathryn calling out to him, her arm up high in the air, waving to him. Oswin waited patiently for her to catch up to him, and he watched her curiously as she doubled over, panting for breath. It was obvious that she had been running.

'Hello Kathryn' Oswin said slowly. Just because her arrival wasn't at the most convenient of times didn't mean Oswin had to be rude and blow her off. He was annoyed on the inside, but he was managing to rein in his temper for the time being. He had a sinking feeling he knew what she wanted though.

'Hey Oswin, what are you doing all the way out here?' she asked curiously. It wasn't exactly a secret that Oswin wasn't a pokemon fanatic after all. All the starter trainers that began with him knew he wasn't like them, and that he had no interest in travelling around Kanto in hopes of becoming the next chapter.

'I'm on assignment for my Grandfather. I need to get to Pewter City before I can head back home' Oswin stated, hopeful that once she knew this she'd let him pass without challenging him to a battle. She didn't.

'Have time for a quick match first?' she asked with a sly grin, already pulling out a pokeball. Oswin sighed, his hopes dashed. He knew that he couldn't refuse, and so with great resignation, Oswin pulled out a pokeball of his own and Kathryn let out a squeal of delight. She quickly released a level 7 Rattata as Oswin let out Pidgey. Oswin quirked an eyebrow at her.

'Did you catch that in Route 1?' he asked and Kathryn confirmed his theory with a silent nod of her head. Then she quickly got into the match.

'Tatyana, Quick Attack!' Kathryn cried and in a blur of motion that was too fast for Oswin's eyes to process, Tatyana the Rattata vanished. Pidgey looked around for it, before he yelped in pain as Tatyana reappeared and struck him, knocking him out of the air. Pidgey hit the ground with a loud thud. He was getting pretty tired now from all these battles. Oswin wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going.

'Pidgey, use Gust!' Oswin cried, and Pidgey managed to get up and inflict an attack on Tatyana, taking out a quarter of Tatyana's HP. Tatyana next used Tackle, and Pidgey used Gust again. Pidgey's HP was very low now so Oswin quickly used a Potion on the O.L pokemon. Tatyana used Tackle again but it only inflicted a minor amount of damage.

Two more Gusts were enough for Pidgey to take out Tatyana and he grew to level 12 as a result. He was looking pretty tired now so as Kathryn recalled her first pokemon, Oswin patted Pidgey's head and praised him before returning him as well. Rose could take care of the rest… just as long as Kathryn didn't send out that Charmander of hers.

'So you took down Tatyana? That's alright, I've still got two more pokemon to go, go Windie!' Kathryn cried, releasing a Pokémon Oswin had seen more times than he could count. They were pretty common after all, and there were dozens of them in residence at the Coral, both wild ones nesting there and those that belonged to trainers. It had a purple body and large red eyes. It was beating its two beautiful white wings that seemed to shimmer in the darkness of the forest, and Oswin could just about make out some patterning on them. Oswin knew it was a Butterfree, the fully evolved form of Caterpie, and it was at level 10, meaning it had only just evolved.

Wishing that he had left Pidgey in now, Oswin bit his lip and released Rose, who just like with Pinsir, beamed at the opportunity to battle something new. Oswin made a mental note that Rose seemed to enjoy battling new species of pokemon rather than battling the same types again and again.

Windie started the match by using String Shot, but Rose managed to dodge it before landing a Leech Seed on Windie. Windie responded by using Confusion, a move that shrouded Rose in a bright blue aura that made Rose convulse and shiver in discomfort as waves of telepathic energy assaulted her mind. She lost quite bit of HP due to that Psychic type attack, and Oswin knew that he'd need to end this quickly if he wanted to win. Rose regained some health thanks to the Leech Seed, before she used Vine Whip to knock Windie out of the air.

Windie used Tackle, taking Rose down to just under half her HP, before it was zapped of its strength again, and some of Rose's HP was restored. She then used Vine Whip again, and Windie tried using Tackle again but missed. With one final drain on its HP thanks to the Leech Seed, Windie just couldn't take anymore and collapsed to the ground, down for the count.

'Bulbasaur!' (HAHA! Take that Butternuts!) Rose laughed wickedly as Kathryn recalled Windie the Butterfree.

'You're strong Oswin, but I've still got my strongest pokemon of all left, go Charity!' Kathryn cried, and Oswin let out a low groan. The pokemon that appeared was a small orange lizard like creature, with little claws and a burning flame on the tip of its tail. It was obviously Kathryn's starter, her female Charmander, and she was at level 12, the same as Rose.

'Charity? Your Charmander is a girl?' Oswin arched an eyebrow and Kathryn nodded, a little confused as to why Oswin was caught up on that little detail.

'Yeah, what's wrong with that?' Kathryn and Charity both narrowed their eyes and Oswin gulped.

_(Oops, you shouldn't have said that Oswin… that Charmander looks about right to rip off my boys for that little slip up)_

'I'm just a little surprised. Male Charmander are much more common, and female starters are quite rare. I'm just surprised because my Bulbasaur is female too, which means that two out of the three Professor Oak gave out that day are both female' Oswin said quickly before Kathryn thought he was a sexist. Oswin wasn't. He may have a short temper, but he wasn't really against any particular group. He wasn't racist, he didn't hate people based on their religion, he didn't dislike gay people, nor did he believe people ranked differently due to their gender. Out of anything Oswin was, stereotypical wasn't one of them.

Kathryn still looked a little frosty but seemed to calm down, and looked ready to start the match.

'Rose, do you want to take this one? Remember, Charity is a fire type, so she'll be strong against you' Oswin called out warning.

Rose threw him a look that clearly said 'That me out of this battle and I'll bit off your balls and eat them in front of you'. Oswin sighed, and gestured for her to begin.

'Charity, end this quickly, use Ember!' Kathryn called and Charity fired a barrage of small smouldering embers at Rose. The softly glowing red projectiles hit the grass type, doling massive damage on her HP. Rose retaliated by using Leech Seed, but Oswin knew it would take a lot more than their usual strategy to win this. He quickly used a Potion on Rose, which restored most of her HP, and the Leech Seed zapped Charity, restoring the rest.

'Scratch!' Kathryn cried, and Charity used her claws and swiped at Rose, leaving some small, painful cuts on Rose's face. Rose didn't take too kindly to that, and used Tackle, which combined with the following zap from the Leech Seed, brought Charity down to half her HP. Unfortunately, Kathryn decided to use a Potion, which restored Charity to full HP, effectively bringing the battle back to square one.

Oswin suddenly got an idea, and grinned as he set about putting it into motion. He was tired of all these battles now. All he wanted to do was get to Pewter City, and check into a room at the Pokémon centre for the night. He could attend to the exchange in the morning.

'Grab her with Vine Whip!' he called out, and looking confused but deciding on a whim to go with her Moron on this, Rose grabbed Charity by the arms with her Vines and held on tight. Charity squirmed furiously, trying to escape, but to no avail.

'Now use Tackle without letting go!' Oswin yelled and Rose's eyes widened at the command, instantly understanding her 'Not-trainer's' idea. She was actually impressed. That was quite a creative strategy and not one she'd ever have expected from a fool like Oswin.

Rose, retracting her Vines to pick up speed, charged at Charity and let go at the last moment. Without any time to escape, Charity just couldn't dodge in time and Rose crashed straight into her, scoring a Critical Hit which actually knocked Charity down to only a quarter of her HP. The fire lizard barely managed to get up after the Leech Seed stole even more of her health.

'Try to use Ember!' Kathryn cried desperately, and Charity landed a hit on Rose which almost knocked her out. Thankfully, the Leech Seed was once again the deciding factor of the match, and as Rose grew a little bit stronger, Charity fell unconscious as the last of her strength was taken from her. Rose grew to level 13 from the match, and almost grew to level 14 but didn't quite manage it. Oswin could hardly believe it. They had actually just beat a fire type!

'I… oh… err, great job Rose!' Oswin managed to smile as he patted Rose's head. Rose actually smiled at him for once. Her dislike for him hadn't diminished, not by a long shot, but she was actually quite proud of herself for beating Charity and that was reflected in her good mood, as in her expression.

'Wow… I can't believe Charity lost, to a Bulbasaur of all things… that's the first time any of my pokemon fainted…' Kathryn was mumbling to herself before she hugged her Charmander, carefully avoiding the flame engulfed tail of course. She whispered some words of comfort and praise to Charity, before returning the fire type to her pokeball. She then turned to Oswin with a smile on her face as she handed him £176.

'That was a good match Oswin. I must admit I'm a little embarrassed about losing to someone that's not even enthusiastic about being a trainer. Could you do me a favour and not mention this to my younger brother and sister when you go back to Pallet Town? I've sort of become their role model since I'm a trainer now and I don't want to disappoint them. I'll give you this in return for keeping this a secret' Kathryn said hopefully and Oswin just didn't have the heart to refuse. He quickly nodded his head and Kathryn let out a sigh of relief as she dug around in her jacket pocket, before she withdrew a large piece of paper and handed it to Oswin. Oswin curiously unfolded it and found it to be a detailed map of the Kanto region, along with the Sevii Islands out in the East, and the Porta Vista cluster down in the south. It would be very useful to him, if he was a trainer that was.

_(A complete Town Map? Sure, this is a handy item, but why is she giving this to me? Won't she need it herself?)_

His confusion must have shown on his face, for Kathryn was answering his question before Oswin even had a chance to ask it.

'Both my mom and my dad bought me one of those without realising it, so I have a spare one anywhere. Please take it Oswin, and remember, don't mention this battle to my siblings… or anyone in fact, ok?' Kathryn reminded him and Oswin smiled and nodded at her, silently vowing to keep his silence. It wasn't a very important battle in the grand scheme of things, so Oswin felt no desire to tell anybody about this little match anyway.

'My lips are sealed' he promised and Kathryn grinned happily at him.

'Well, I guess that's me heading straight to the Pokémon Centre then… goodbye Oswin, and I hope your assignment goes well' Kathryn shook Oswin' hand.

'Good luck in your next battle' Oswin replied and moments later the girl had vanished through the gate leading into Pewter City. Oswin felt Rose nudge his leg, and he looked down at her. She was smirking teasingly up at him.

'And what exactly are _you_ grinning at?' he asked with an arched eyebrow. Rose just lifted her paw and pointed in the direction Kathryn had just left in. Oswin frowned for a moment, before his mouth dropped open as he realised what the grass type pokemon was getting at.

'Whoa missy! You're way off base! I don't fancy Kathryn! I hardly even know her!' he said, waving his hands wildly as he blushed furiously. Sure, Kathryn was pretty, but no. Oswin didn't fancy her… nor did he appreciate Rose's attempts at winding him up. Rose roared with laughter at her trainer's reaction, and she was still smirking as an annoyed Oswin recalled her to her pokeball. He glowered down at the red and white sphere as if it had personally offended him before he clipped it onto his belt.

_(Stupid flowering bulb… as if I'd fancy Kathryn! Sure, she's pretty and she seems nice enough, but it's completely ridiculous to even consider that! I mean, she's a trainer! She'd be gone nearly all of the time anyway! Rose is just trying to mess with my head, that wretched… **EVIL** little shrub!)_

Still grumbling about the Grass Type's shenanigans, Oswin turned back towards the gate, and at long last, he finally stepped through it, leaving the humidity of Viridian Forest behind, and venturing into the most welcomed hub of civilisation, Pewter City.

His goal - to track down Mr Valda, make the exchange, and get the hell back to Pallet Town as fast as he could.

**...**

**And there's chapter two. Now, this is turning out much more like a game than my other pokemon story, which I'm relieved about. Plus, I hope people don't mind the way I'm messing with the game characters. Anyway, I have a question for you guys. At some point, Oswin with travel to the Fiore Region and catch a new team of pokemon. I already have all his Kanto and Johto pokemon mapped out, but I was hoping for Fiore suggestions. I need between 12 and 15, preferably of different types. Also, no Legendaries and I'll pick the ones that fit in best with my future plot lines : ) You can see which pokemon are avaible in that region using Serebii Net, so I'd really appreciate suggestions : ) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you in the next chapter.**


	3. Operation 3 – Problems in Pewter City

**Hey readers : ) So, originally this chapter was going to take us all the way through to the end of Mt Moon, but considering the fact that would include Pewter City, Route 3, AND Mt Moon, it was... rather long. Way too long to read in one sitting in fact, so I've decided to break it down and thus you guys get an earlier update then you would have done : ) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you to everyone that has read and reviewed this story so far. Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, but Oswin Oak is my own creation.**

**...**

**Operation 3 – Problems in Pewter City**

Oswin couldn't help the huge grin that lit up his face as he took his first few tentative steps into the sprawling metropolis that was Pewter City. Everywhere the young teenager looked, he saw something different. He had always thought that Pallet Town was big, but Pallet Town paled in comparison to Viridian City, and even Viridian City was nothing compared to the city presenting itself to Oswin now. This city dwarfed every other place Oswin could ever remember seeing in his entire life, it was so huge.

'Excuse me young man, but you're standing on my merchandise, so either buy it, or get off it!' an irritated voice snapped Oswin out of his delighted state. The smile slipped from Oswin's face as he looked down at the ground he was standing on. It was a large mossy grey rock, adjoined to the hillside overlooking Pewter City where Oswin currently was situated, held in place firmly by a bank of mud so it was study enough to hold his weight.

_(Merchandise? This lousy old rock? Just what is that old fool jabbering on about?! Perhaps he's losing it in his old age… just as long as he isn't another paedophile! Crazy people I can handle, pervy ones I can't!)_

'Are you talking to me?' he eventually asked as his eyes landed on a man sitting on a ledge just down below him. The man had his face hidden behind a low hobo-looking hat and a raggedy beard. He was sitting crossed legged, and he sure looked suspicious to Oswin.

_(Hum… this guy is weird, shady AND creepy. Definitely NOT a friendly guy. I'm getting out of here before we have a repeat of that Viridian City incident!)_

'Yes I am! And you're standing on my livelihood!' the man yelled at Oswin, who sweat-dropped and looked more confused than ever.

'But I'm just standing on an old rock' Oswin pointed out, an eyebrow quirked in confusion.

_(Maybe this guy is just a few pins short of a bowling alley…)_

The man bristled with rage at Oswin's comment. His eyes flashed behind his hat and beard. His fingers twitched slightly in anger.

'WHAT?! AN OLD ROCK?! How dare you say that! That rock is a genuine Pewter City Rock! It is NOT some common seashore pebble!' the man yelled at Oswin, who merely narrowed his eyes and stepped down from the rock he was standing on. He pretended to exam it closely, his eyes and mouth twitching mockingly.

'Oh yeah? Well I don't see anything that interesting about it… in fact, I do believe I see some Pidgey droppings on it' Oswin sneered at the man mockingly.

_(Honestly, if he seriously sells 'rocks' for a living, he's actually crazy. I'm leaving. This guy is a total nut job!)_

The man was practically foaming at the mouth by this point, and as Oswin began walking away with his nose high in the air, the man leapt to his feet and starting screaming after him. The geezer made no effort to follow the teenager however. He may be angry at the young blonde, but he wasn't furious enough to become violent towards him.

'YOU LITTLE WANKER! NO RESPECT AT ALL!' he yelled but Oswin shrugged it off. He had been called worse in the past after all, mostly by Gary and even Ash when he was really mad at Oswin, which happened more often than you'd think.

Oswin continued all the way down into the entrance of the city, and he grinned as he crossed the threshold of the city, breathing in the slightly smoggy air of Pewter City, only to gag on it a moment later. He coughed violently as a large delivery truck left the city, presumably delivering supplies to a neighbouring city, most likely Viridian.

_(Right, so all I need to do is find Mr Valda's house, give him this Dawn Stone, get the Old Amber, and then I can finally go home!)_

With his goal in mind, Oswin set off into the streets of Pewter, determined to finish his assignment as soon as possible.

…

But naturally with Oswin's unfortunate luck, Pewter City had other ideas for young Oswin, and with its twisting streets and bustling activity around every corner, it wasn't long before Oswin was lost in the maze that was Pewter.

Thankfully he found himself to be quite close to a Pokémon Centre, but he decided to ask a rather large man standing a few feet away from the red-roofed building for directions first. Then he'd know where to go after having Nurse Joy heal his pokemon back to full strength.

As he approached, the fat man spotted him, and spoke up before Oswin had a chance to utter a single word.

'There's aren't many serious Pokémon Trainers here, They're all like Bug Catchers, you know, just hobbyists. But Pewter Gym's Brock isn't like that, not one bit' the fat man stated happily and Oswin arched an eyebrow at him.

'So this 'Brock' guy is the gym leader here?... Oh never mind that… what I wanted to ask you was if you knew where the museum was?' Oswin changed the subject, not caring about the gym leader, because unless he was Mr Valda, he had nothing to do with Oswin's business with Pewter City.

'Sorry mate, I've got no idea where it is, I'm from out of town' the fat man told him regrettably. Oswin scowled, thanked him, before heading into the Pokémon Centre.

Inside the centre was the usual Nurse Joy behind the counter, and five other people, one with a small round pink pokemon. Oswin approached the desk, getting Nurse Joy's attention.

'Welcome to our Pokémon Centre! Would you like me to heal your pokemon back to perfect health?' she asked kindly and Oswin nodded at her, handing her Rose's pokeball and the other two O.L. balls. The Nurse Joy placed them on the machine behind her and requested the Oswin return in a few minutes, so the young teenager set about trying to find the way the museum in the meantime.

He decided to ask the young boy in the corner of the room by a bookshelf, playing with the small pink pokemon. Oswin was trying to figure out what the pokemon was, but he had never seen one before, and he couldn't remember it from his textbooks. As Oswin approached the boy and the pokemon, he heard the boy yawn as the pokemon… sang?

_(Is that pokemon actually singing? Yawn… oh shit, I'm beat… wait! It's that pokemon that's making me sleepy! Holy crap that's scary! A pokemon that can put you to sleep! Weird and rape-y as hell!)_

As Oswin approached them, the boy and the singing pink pokemon looked at him.

'When Jigglypuff sings, Pokémon get drowsy… And… me too…' the boy yawned loudly, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle the involuntary reaction to the Jigglypuff's song.

'I was wondering if you could tell me where the museum is?!' Oswin asked loudly to drown out the singing, placing his hands over his ears in order to block it out.

'Snore…' was all the boy said as he fell to his knees, out cold. Oswin sweat-dropped as the Jigglypuff giggled, clearly amused that its trainer had fallen asleep due to its lullaby. Scowling, Oswin resisted the urge to kick the unhelpful boy as he slept on the floor, before he turned sharply on the spot and approached an old man pacing by the front door instead. Oswin didn't realise that the old man was on the phone until after he tapped him on the shoulder.

'What?! Team Rocket is at Mt Moon? Huh? I'm on the phone! Scram!' the man snapped at Oswin, who glared coolly at the old prune before stomping away to a young boy with black hair sitting by a glass table. The boy looked at Oswin with a manic grin as the teenager approach him.

'I really want a Pikachu, so I'm trading my Clefairy for one' he said gleefully.

_(And I care because?!)_

'That's great, but can you tell me where the museum is?' Oswin asked, carefully to keep the sarcasm out of his tone.

'How should I know? Unless it looks like a Pikachu I'm not interested in it' the boy said snippily and Oswin scowled, muttering irritably as he ignored the guy the boy was trading with, knowing he'd be just a much help, namely none at all. Oswin was about to head towards the only other person in the Pokémon Centre, a young girl standing in the corner looking at a blown up copy of a Town Map plastered on the wall, when Nurse Joy called him over to the counter, his pokemon healed up and ready to go.

'Thanks for healing my pokemon Nurse Joy. Do you happen to know where the museum is, or where Mr Valda the Museum owner lives?' Oswin asked her politely, hopeful that at least the nurse would be a little more helpful than all the other idiots in the room. Nurse Joy smiled at him.

'Sure I do! The Museum is the really big building in the far north of the city. It's the building right on the edge of the forest, and Mr Valda lives in the house right next door to it, on the right hand side, you can't miss either of those buildings' she explained and Oswin nodded at her.

'Thanks a lot Nurse Joy, see ya!' Oswin grinned before turning and racing out the door, eager to get this over with so that he could finally go home and back to at least a little bit of his long last normality.

Following Nurse Joy's directions made it a lot easier to navigate the city, and soon enough, Oswin found himself standing outside a huge building right on the northern edge of the city. A sign stood outside the grand, purple roofed building which read 'Pewter Museum of Science'.

_(Well… I did want to go home as sound as possible, but this museum might actually be fun, and it's not like I'll be coming back to Pewter City anytime in the near future, so I might as well check it out whilst I'm in town)_

And with that thought in mind, Oswin grinned as he wandered up the stone steps and into the museum.

…

The first thing that met Oswin's eyes was a counter running alongside the right hand side of the room, with a wall behind the man at the desk, decorated with yellow coloured stripy wallpaper. It was a little tacky in Oswin's opinion, but he kept his mouth shut as he approached a man behind the counter, who was looking slightly harassed and irritated.

_(God he looked like a grumpy twat! Probably had a load of people come through here this morning already I suppose)_

Oswin approached the man, who cut him off before he even had chance to utter a single word.

'Yes, Yes. It's £50 for a child's ticket' the man told him snappishly. Oswin arched an eyebrow at him, looking down at himself.

_(Do I look like a child to you mate?! Oh well, I suppose since I'm not sixteen I'm still legally a child… whatever! Let's just pay the prick and go inside!)_

'Would you like to come in or not?!' the man snapped when Oswin didn't respond immediately.

'Alright! Chill out!' Oswin glared at him, digging around for his wallet. He took out his trainer ID and passed it to man, who swiped it through a card scanner before handing it back to him. Oswin put it back in his wallet before putting that back in his jeans' pocket.

'Please refrain from releasing any pokemon from their pokeballs whilst visiting the museum' the man said and Oswin nodded at him before walking past the miserable git, looking around at the resplendent room before him.

It certainly was impressive, even a none-pokemon frantic like Oswin couldn't argue with that. On the first floor there were two glass cabinets, which Oswin quickly approached, looking in to get a better look at them. In the first one, a set of skeletal bones of a huge winged creature lay in formation. Oswin quickly looked at the plague identifying the impressive deceased creature.

'Aerodactyl Fossil – A primitive and rare pokemon' the plague read. Oswin arched an eyebrow at that.

_(Aerodactyl… I hope that the Old Amber doesn't turn into an Aerodactyl if gramps really does have it restored back to life… I mean, fucking hell! Feeding that thing?! It would probably eat the person feeding it as well! But it's still really cool. The type of pokemon either the hero or the villain in a story might have… I such jot some of this down)_

Oswin quickly pulled out his notebook and a pen from his bag, and began scribbling down notes about the Aerodactyl and how he could use it in a story. Once he had finished, he kept his notebook out and headed to the second glass cabinet.

As he looked down at another set of skeleton remains, he noted that the bones looked like some kind of creepy shellfish, with axe blades for arms. In life Oswin supposed it must have been impressive. He began scribbling down notes about the shape of the creature as he read the plague.

'Kabutops Fossil – A primitive and rare pokemon' it said.

_(Kabutops and Aerodactyl… I wonder if there is any way to catch them, other than fossil restoration. I mean, alright, I don't really want a whole lot of pokemon, Rose is MORE than enough, but those ancient pokemon are still pretty amazing!)_

Oswin paused, mentally wondering WHY he would be interested in catching any type of pokemon, ancient species or not, before he shrugged it off and headed upstairs. There he found it to be a little more busy with people. Downstairs there had only been one old man, who Oswin hadn't spoken too due to his recent encounter with a creepy old man.

But as he looked around at the exhibits on display on the top floor of the museum, Oswin immediately bumped into a scientist, who just so happened to work at the museum.

'I'm sorry' Oswin apologised as the man righted himself on his feet, fixing his glasses, which had been dangling from his left ear, back onto his nose.

'It's quite alright young man. How are you enjoying the museum so far' the scientist asked Oswin warmly. Oswin grinned at him.

'I think it's amazing… those fossils downstairs, how does the museum keep them so well preserved?' Oswin asked and the scientist smiled.

'Ah, we use small, weakly powered air-brushes to clean them rather than water so that we don't chip anything off of them. We've also got some new exhibits being constructed as we speak. Tell me, have you ever heard of Omastar, or Cradily or Armaldo?' the man asked, but Oswin, who had never heard of any of those things, shook his head.

'They are all extinct pokemon that can only be caught if you use a fossil to restore them to life. We currently have a shipment of fossil remains coming in from the Hoenn region, and we plan to have them on exhibition here within the next two months!' the scientist cried excitedly. Oswin grinned at him.

'Cool, I'll have to come back and see them!' he said happily, making a mental note to do that some time. He paused again, frowning slightly. WHY did that keep happening?! He just… kept getting excited over pokemon stuff… why though? He was a writer! NOT a trainer! Things like this shouldn't be happening… and yet, they did…

The man beamed at him, before he had to get back to work, leaving a still slightly confused Oswin behind him. Oswin decided to get back to looking at the exhibits, and went over to a large model of a rocket ship. He looked at the plague beneath it.

'Space Shuttle – Believed to have carried the first astronauts to see an alien pokemon' it read.

'There are pokemon in space?!' Oswin gaped at the Space Shuttle model. Now THAT was a pokemon to be excited about, Pokefan or not! Alien pokemon?! Amazing! Oswin immediately began imagining what types of pokemon may live in space, and if any of them would ever come to earth…

Eventually Oswin headed towards the final exhibit, which was contained in a huge glass cabinet like those downstairs. Inside it was a rather large meteorite which seemed to twinkle with a strange, mystifying silver light. Oswin read the plague.

'A meteorite that fell on Mt Moon. It is thought to be a Moon Stone.'

_(If it is, that's a pretty big Moon Stone… even I know what they do though, they evolve certain pokemon, like Nidorina and Nidorino… and I think they evolve Clefairy and Skitty as well…and there's something else I can't quite think of)_

Oswin tried to remember what other pokemon evolved using a Moon Stone, but he just couldn't remember it. He was sure it was a pokemon he had seen recently though, but he just couldn't think of what it was. In the end he decided to just give up on trying to remember, and with no more exhibits to see, he headed back downstairs and left the museum.

Since Nurse Joy had said that Mr Valda lived right next door to the museum, Oswin had no problem in locating the house. It was a grand, expensive-looking manor house, built into the side of the museum, with heavy iron railings with large spikes on the ends built around the property. Oswin approached the driveway, only to stop and stare.

There, right in front of him, was a large tree, growing up through the driveway and completely blocking off entry to the front door. Oswin stared at it, a frown tugging at his lips.

'But… how do they get visitors?' he asked aloud, tilting his head in confusion. He leaned in closer to examine the large tree. It was more like a bush than a tree though, and Oswin scowled when he realised exactly what it was. And he immediately knew that it was not the Valdas intention for it to be where it was.

It was a Regenerative-Bush. Oswin had heard of them. They were a newly discovered type of plant which was NOT natural at all. Apparently, a team of scientists had been researching ways to help regrow rainforests ruined by deforestation and forest fires back to their former state more quickly by generically alternating plants, using Tangela DNA to do it. Tangela were pokemon with amazing restorable abilities, for their vines broke frequently, but the scientists had made a blunder, accidently releasing the unfinished proto-type plant into the wild and causing them to pop up everywhere. Thankfully, they could be destroyed using the HM move Cut, but Oswin had no idea where he'd find one of those. HMs were exceedingly rare after all.

With no way for him to proceed to the house, Oswin was forced to turn around and head to the Pokémon Centre, unable to complete his mission. He grumbled indignantly all the way back to the building that was a home-away-from-home for travelling trainers. He'd have to make a telephone call to Professor Oak and get new instructions, but he had no idea yet as to what those new instructions may be.

…

Not half an hour later, an irritated Oswin was standing in the Pewter City Pokémon Centre, waiting in line not-so-patiently, as a guy in his early twenties talked on the video phone to a girl whom presumably was his girlfriend.

'No you hang up' the boy beamed at his woman, who blushed prettily, giggling madly.

'No you hang up' she purred in response to her boyfriend's crooning.

_(You have GOT to be kidding me! People SERIOUSLY do that?! Well I don't have time for any of that fucking shit! I've got work to do!)_

'No you hang up' behind the guy's back, Oswin got a rather impressive tick mark of frustration on his forehead, a sure sign that he was close to snapping. He honestly didn't care how much of their own time those dewy eyed lovers wasted, but he was NOT happy about them wasting HIS time too!

'No you hang up' the girl simpered and Oswin stepped forwards angrily, startling both the man in Oswin's physical location and the woman on the other end of the communication line.

'How's this, I'LL hang up?!' Oswin finally snapped, and before anybody could protest, he slammed his hand down on a button on the side of the monitor screen, and the connection was cut, much to the young blonde's relief.

'Hey! I wasn't finish yet!' the guy shouted at Oswin, who rounded on his feet and glared up at the elder man, a blaze of anger burning in his teenage eyes.

'Well some of us don't have time to waste listening to some dickhead playing hang-up with a woman, who quite frankly, could probably do much better than him' Oswin replied tartly and the guy's mouth dropped open.

'Why you little tosser!' the man spat in Oswin's face before storming away, his hand flying into his jacket pocket to pull out a small cellphone. Oswin's jaw dropped open when some of the man's words drifted back to him.

'I'm so sorry about that babe… so where were we? Oh yeah, no you hang up' the man continued, his gooey voice back as he walked right out of the centre doors and out of sight.

'What a complete prick' Oswin shook his head to himself, NOT amused by that little performance in the slightest. He had a lot of things to attend too. He wasn't out in Pewter City for a vacation after all. This was serious work. AND Oswin still had some material to type up if he was to meet his next deadline on his writer's blog.

Oswin quickly dialled the number for his grandfather's lab back in pallet town, and waited, tapping his foot impatiently as he did so, until Professor Oak finally answered the phone roughly three minutes later, his face appearing on the screen before Oswin.

'Hi gramps' Oswin greeted him before Professor Oak could even any his mouth to form a single word.

'Ah Oswin! I take it you arrived in Pewter City unharmed?' the professor asked, a small crease of worry appearing on his forehead. Oswin nodded, studying his grandfather's face, curiosity lining his own. Oswin noted that the elderly man looked rather harassed, and appeared to be quite flustered. Oswin was curious as to what could have driven the man to such a state when he was normally so calm and reserved.

'Yes, I am fine… _you_ however do not look quite so well, what happened?' Oswin asked, concern in his own voice now. He had always loved his Grandfather very much, despite the man's strictness and his habit of lecturing educational material into Oswin's head as a young child. He didn't like seeing him looking so run down, not when Oswin had only been away a couple of days.

Professor Oak smiled softly, somewhat touched by the worry in the young teenager's face and tone.

'Oh I'm fine… just some of the pokemon here on the ranch have been causing a bit of a ruckus' the old professor waved off Oswin's concerns. Oswin wasn't convinced however, and silently waited for the professor to elaborate. Professor Oak sighed when he realised that Oswin's wasn't buying it. It was clear the issue was a bit more intense than he was letting on.

'Some of the psychic pokemon we care for here are detecting something… strange. It's making them act rather erratically. If they don't calm down soon, I'm afraid they'll lose control of their telepathic energies and cause a disaster in Pallet Town. I've been trying to uncover the source of the problem, but so far I'm having no luck' the old man explained and Oswin frowned.

That information was… troubling, to say the very least. Psychic pokemon were revered for being some of the most powerful creatures in existence for a reason. Their minds and intellect were unmatched in humanity except for some extremely rare cases, like Sabrina, the Psychic Gym Leader and rumoured to be on par with certain members of Kanto's Elite Four.

For them to be sensing something that was causing them to lose their mental control over their own abilities, something they were usually extraordinary in maintaining control over unlike other elemental types, then the source of whatever it was they were detecting must be something terrible indeed.

Oswin tried to push that out of his mind however. Once he was back in Pallet Town, he'd be able to help the professor with this problem. Until then he had his own assignment to complete. Obtaining the Old Amber was very important to Professor Oak's research after all. It could prove vital in uncovering the ways of ancient extinct pokemon. Oswin couldn't just leave empty-handed, despite how much the young trainer would love too.

'Anyway, enough about that. How are you? And more pressingly, is there something you need? I must admit I'm curious as to the need behind this call. Not that I'm not pleased to see you of course' the professor quickly added when he realised that the sentiments had sounded a little cold.

'Yes, I managed to find my way to Mr Valda's house, but I can't get to the front door. One of those Regenerative Bushes is growing up through the drive-way and there's fencing up all over. I can't get through to make the exchange so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now' Oswin explained the situation and watched as Professor Oak's face morphed into a thoughtful expression.

'Those bushes are becoming a problem. They're popping up everywhere! Fortunately they can be taken care of quite easily' the old man rubbed his chin as his mind worked on forming a solution to their current dilemma.

'I know, the HM Cut… but those are really rare. I'm not sure where I can buy one' Oswin admitted. Despite not having visited the Pewter City Pokemart yet, he was quite sure he wouldn't find any rare TMs there, let alone any HMs which were practically unattainable to most travelling trainers.

'Intend they are. No, I think trying to find a HM01 of our own will be futile. However they may be another solution' Professor Oak's eyes lit up happily and Oswin leaned in closer to the screen, not wanting to miss any information that may be vital in speeding up the process of getting him back home.

'There are rumours of a Cut Master that captains a ship that docks regularly in Vermillion City…' Professor Oak began, causing Oswin's eye to almost bulge out of his head. The blonde's jaw threatened to drop open and he grimaced slightly.

_(I didn't even want to come to Pewter City… but Vermillion is fucking MILES away! it'll take me weeks to get there! Possibly months!)_

'You've got to be kidding me! Vermillion City? Do you have any idea how long it will take me to get there? There's got to be another way!' Oswin got out through his gritted teeth, shaking his head defiantly. He respected his grandfather and knew that the man was far from being a fool, but that plan was so ludicrous that no amount of words could sugar coat it.

'If you've got an alternate idea I'd be glad to hear it' Professor Oak arched an inviting eyebrow at him. Oswin frowned thoughtfully, trying to puzzle it out but nothing was springing to mind. The Bush was too bulky to try and force his way through, the iron gates would be deadly if he tried climbing over them, and he couldn't fly over them either. He also couldn't risk having Pidgey attempt to fly the Dawn Stone over in case he accidently damaged it. It was that same with the Old Amber. Both were far too precious to attempt to make the exchange whilst in the air. Oswin let out a very low, long-suffering, sigh of resentment towards his own life.

'I take it you have no suggestions' Professor Oak said in amusement and Oswin, shoulders slumped, shook his head.

'Then that settles it. You need to go to Vermillion' the renowned professor clapped his hands. Oswin grimaced and whined loudly.

'But Gramps! I don't want to go all the way to Vermillion City! And what about the Psychic Pokémon back in Pallet Town, you look like you need my help with them… AND I've got my writer's blog to think about! How am I supposed to write and update if I'm on the road for weeks on end? And what about mom and dad? They'll... actually never mind. They'll probably be happy to get rid of me for a while… but still… it's not fair!' Oswin moaned pitifully but Professor Oak wasn't about to give into his childish whining. He had never tolerant it in the past, nor had he ever caved to it, and he wasn't about too now.

'Oh Oswin, stop whining, you sound like you're Alicia's age! I know it's not ideal but life isn't always ideal and you know how important that Old Amber is to my research into the ways of ancient pokemon. I can't allow your complaining to stand in the way of scientific research! As for your blog, I'm sorry to say that there are things, a LOT of things, more important in this world than your blog, and as for the travelling, well; it'll probably do you some good anyway. Now stop complaining and just… get on with your job' Professor Oak sternly chided his grandson, who hung his head miserably.

_(Anyone else and I'd tell him to fuck off right the way to hell, but I can't with Gramps… he's always been very good at making me behave… still, this fucking sucks balls and he knows it!)_

Oswin didn't say anything for a while, and Professor Oak smiled softly at his moping grandson. Whilst stern and formidable, Professor Oak wasn't overly harsh, and was willing to offer up a small compromise if Oswin was willing to listen to it.

'Look, I know this isn't exactly what you signed up for, but if you go find the Cut Master and get me that Old Amber, I'll pay you double for your efforts, AND you can have two weeks' vacation when you get back to Pallet Town. You can't say fairer than that' Professor Oak wheedled and Oswin finally gave in.

'Oh alright… how long will it take me?' Oswin wanted to know, resigned but willing to comply. Professor Oak suddenly looked very sheepish. He took a deep breath, and perhaps to make the news more bearable by delivering it quickly, he pretty much just blurted the answer out.

'A month' he admitted and Oswin's jaw dropped.

'A month?!' he gaped. He had known that Vermillion City was a very long distance away from Pewter City, but he had had no idea it was just THAT far away! His feet would be in ruins by the time he got there! Not to mention his blog wouldn't have been updated in weeks! Oswin was really loathing his own existence in that moment, and it was about to get even worse.

'Err… that's a month getting there, and one month getting back…' the professor waited for the ensuring explosion.

'WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!' Oswin roared so loudly that the entire Pokémon Centre fell silent. He blushed a dark crimson colour and leaned in closer to the screen, trying to ignore the way everybody in the building was staring at him, slack jawed.

'Two Months?! It is going to take me two months to make this round journey?! You've got to be kidding gramps! You can't seriously make me do this!' Oswin shook his head, hatred for the idea returning in full force times tenfold. Professor Oak arched an eyebrow at his last choice of words however.

'I think you'll find I _can_ make you do this… either that or go on a journey when you job is terminated' the professor said, basically giving Oswin a decision that put him between a rock and a hard place. Oswin growled like a feral Arcanine at the screen, before he sighed, once again giving in to the Professor's demands. If he DIDN'T do this, he'd have no job, and if he had no job, his father would kick him out and he'd either have to live on the streets or go on a journey. Either way the end result was the same, only the professor's way meant he was on the road for a shorter amount of time. So despite not really wanting too and loathing the situation he was in, Oswin was forced to concede and go find the Cut Master. That didn't mean he couldn't whine and bitch about it for a very long time however.

'Fine. You know what. Fine! But if I end up slaughtered out in the wilderness, tore apart by a feral pokemon or murdered and abused by a cold blood killer, I hope you can sleep well knowing it was _you_ that sent me out there!' Oswin shook his head in feint-disgust. Professor Oak snorted loudly and shook his head in amusement.

'Stop being so melodramatic! It's two months! It's not going to do you any harm in the long run. And just think of it this way. The sooner you stop whining to me about the situation and get your backside moving, the sooner it'll be over and you'll be back home' the wise professor laughed heartily and Oswin had to work very hard to stop himself from admitting his grandfather had a point. The teenager let out a low sigh, before he nodded, once again completely defeated.

'Alright, I guess I'll be on the road for a few weeks then… tell mom and dad I said bye, and that I'll call them when I have chance. I'll also call you to let you know how everything's going when I get a chance to' Oswin grumbled in defeat.

Professor Oak smiled, glad that the teenager was finally going to be travelling the open road, however briefly it may be. He knew how experiences with pokemon shaped a person, usually for the better, and all he wanted was for his Grandson to experience that too, rather than stunt his own personal growth by locking himself away in his bedroom, chained to his computer. He was so sure that this would do Oswin the world of good, that he felt no need what so ever to tell the young teenager that as a regional professor, he actually had easy access to all the HMs legalised in the region of Kanto.

'See to it that you do. Keep your chin up, and try catching me some pokemon with those that you have. Oh! And start using that Mankey more often' the professor chide sternly and Oswin stared at him, confused as to how the Professor knew he had even caught Mankey considering he hadn't mentioned it. The Professor smiled when he noticed Oswin's reaction.

'I can access any Trainer's account and see which pokemon they have with them. I see you've been training the Pidgey you caught, so start training the Mankey too. A Primeape would be useful to have registered in the Pokedex. And try not to let this trip get you down Oswin! This is a good chance for you to experience the thrill being with pokemon can bring to your life' the Professor said in an encouraging voice. Oswin managed to give his grandfather a tiny smile, despite it being extremely strained, before he finally cut the connection, ending the call.

_(This is so fucking unfair I can't even take it! Why couldn't Gary do this lame job?! I don't WANT to experience the thrill of pokemon! All I want is the thrill of my pen moving across my paper! Oh well, no pointing crying about split milk. There's not much I can do about this shitty mess anyway…)_

Still muttering dark thoughts to himself and generally just hating his whole life right now, Oswin left the pokemon centre. His goal – to leave Pewter City and begin what promised to be the worst two months of his entire life.

Oswin braced himself. This was NOT going to be easy.

…

Oswin had no idea how right that thought had been. He hadn't even made it to the edge of Pewter City on the eastern side of the sprawling metropolis when he encountered his first problem, namely a crazy guy that refused to let him leave.

Everything had started off normal enough. Oswin had used the Town Map he had obtained from Kathryn and used it to plan out the best route to Vermillion City. He'd need to make a detour through Cerulean City and then head south, but first he needed to work his way through Mt Moon and Routes 3 and 4. And unlike Routes 1 and 2, Routes 3 and 4 had a lot more trainers, a lot more wild pokemon, and a lot more complicated obstacles he'd need to get past or break through. Oswin had two difficult and straining months ahead of him, that much he was certain of if nothing else.

The young not-trainer was just approaching the cusp of the city when he first spotted him. A young man, roughly nineteen or twenty, so only a few years older than Oswin, was casually leaning against a tree, a map under his nose, his eyes darting across the paper. He wore a simple white T-shirt beneath a loosely hanging red and white and black checkered semi-casual shirt, and his jeans were tight fitting and black. His arms and chest were somewhat muscular, and his face was angular, his features sharp and daunting. His eyes shone like twinkling sapphires in his head, and his hair was a darkish blonde colour, that had been gelled over to one side so much that it appeared almost brown. And, subconsciously of course, Oswin noted that the guy was in fact rather sexy, not that Oswin was into boys or anything like that. It was just a passing thought, nothing more.

Oswin wasn't going to say anything to the guy, for fear of being challenged to a battle, and he was just about to cross the threshold where the concrete of the city met the harsh brittle grass of the wilderness, when the guy happened to glance up and caught sight of him. That glance was the most important pivotal moment in Oswin's life. That was the moment his whole world changed forever, not that Oswin had any idea about that of course.

'Hey there buddy! What's the big rush?' the guy asked, grinning widely as he looked Oswin up and down, making the younger blonde tug at his hoodie self-consciously. Oswin noted that the guy's accent wasn't your average Kanto accent, but it was still pretty close. Was the guy from Johto…?

_(Why do all these trainers ask why I'm in such a hurry? I mean, for fuck sake! It's none of their ruddy business!)_

'I want to get through Mt Moon as soon as possible' Oswin eventually decided to humour him and answer his question. The man grinned even wider if that was possible, showing off his surprisingly white and perfect teeth.

'Did you get the Boulder Badge yet?' he flashed Oswin a charming grin which caused Oswin to arch an eyebrow at him.

_(Boulder Badge? Is that a gym badge or some lame collectable or something?)_

'Err… Boulder Badge?' Oswin eventually asked, mentally face-palming for how stupid he sounded. The man smiled slightly, clearly amused by something.

'I guess you haven't. But you are a trainer are you? You'll need the Boulder Badge if you want to enter this year's pokemon league tournament' the man warned him.

'Oh no, I'm not…' Oswin tried to explain but before he got a chance too, the man snapped his fingers as if an idea had just occurred to him.

'Hey! I know! I'll show you where the gym is so that you can challenger the gym leader!' the man said brightly, and Oswin's eyes widened as the man bounded over to him, snatched his hand, intertwined their fingers before pulling Oswin away, back into town. Oswin was surprised by the man's strength. He had a feeling that no matter how much he fought, scratched, kick and even bit this man, he wouldn't let him go.

'But I'm not…'Oswin tried to begin but the man cut over him. Oswin signed slightly, growing somewhat annoyed.

'Of course, Brock's no pushover, but he's got rock type pokemon, and you look like a little newbie trainer, so I'm presuming you'll have either a grass type or a water type starter pokemon' the man said, effortlessly dragging a less than co-operative Oswin along with ease.

'Yes I do, but I'm not a…' Oswin began but it was futile.

'Wicked! So you'll have no problem beating Brock's pokemon!' the man laughed happily as he pulled Oswin over to a large grey stone-work building. It had a gingery brown roof and a sign outside that read 'Pewter City Pokémon Gym. Leader: Brock – The Rock-Solid Pokémon Trainer!'

'There you go! Now, come tell me when you've beaten Brock!' the man grinned down warmly at Oswin, before he clapped him on the shoulder before dashing off again. Oswin was left, utterly bewildered, staring after him.

_(Did that really just happen?! Well sorry mate but I've got no intention of battle this Brock guy! And anyway, I'm not obligated to that guy anyway, so I'm leaving!)_

Oswin scowled to himself as he stalked away from the gym, heading back through the city. He sighed slightly when he noticed that the man was standing by the entrance to Route 3 again, leaning against a tree, a crooked grin lining his sexy face. As Oswin approached, he arched an elegant eyebrow at him.

'No way are you done already! So why aren't you challenging Brock?' he asked, somewhat accusingly. Oswin fought hard not to scowl.

_(Who the fucking hell is this guy anyway?!)_

'I tried telling you! I'm not a pokemon trainer! I'm just passing through on my way to Vermillion City!' Oswin yelled at him and the guy back up slightly, looking a little alarmed at how short tempered Oswin was.

'But… you said you have pokemon! Why wouldn't you challenge the gym?!' the man exclaimed, looking shocked by the very concept of having pokemon and not battling with them. Oswin swore loudly, getting more and more frustrated by this guy the longer the conversation continued.

'Because I've no interest in silly battling or stupid tournaments!' Oswin snapped and the man's jaw dropped, his eyes almost bulging out his head.

'Silly battling?! Stupid Tournaments?! Are you completely mad?! Battling with pokemon is so much fun, and it brings pokemon and people closer together! You have to learn to trust them out in the wild, and by battling others, you become friends with new people, and with rivals pushing you to better yourself, you can become stronger than you ever dreamt possible' the man said passionately, closing his eyes as he reflected his thoughts aloud. Oswin couldn't restrain himself, and ended up rolling his eyes as VERY sarcastic comments began leaking out his mouth.

'Bravo!' he said, clapping his hands, snapping the man out of his trance and making him look at Oswin in confusion.

'That really was VERY inspiration. And I'd really love to stick around and listen to more, but I'm afraid I'll have to bring up the pep-rally and be on my way' Oswin told him, his voice oozing sarcasm, as he side-stepped around the man and went to cross the border into Route 3. Behind his back, the man arched an eyebrow, amused by Oswin's sass and temperament, but he wasn't about to back down so easily. He reached down to his belt, plucking a pokeball off from its clip.

Oswin was just about to step onto the grass, when he heard the man call out behind him.

'Knight! Come on out!' he shouted, and to Oswin's astonishment, a huge draconic creature appeared before him. Even a non-pokemon fanatic like Oswin couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer power that seemed to radiate off the almost legendary pokemon. The dragon type pokemon stood at nearly eight feet tall, dwarfing Oswin and even its own trainer. Knight was a creature covered in a thick hide of light orange scales, each about the size of Oswin's head. His scales became lighter and more like bands on its chest and underbelly, and Oswin could tell it had been raised well, due to the odd sparkling aura its scales emitted. Long, wavy and thin antennae sprouted from its large head, just a few inches above its large amber coloured eyes. A small, barely noticeable horn jutted out from the top of its skull and its powerful leathery aqua coloured wings were neatly folded behind its back, and as it waved at its trainer cheerily, Oswin saw its arms bore large gleaming claws.

It was a pokemon almost believed to be a mere fairy tale, they were so rare. They wielded great power at their disposal. Yes, Oswin knew its species immediately. His own grandfather had one after all, and it was the old man's strongest pokemon. It was a Dragonite. A level 60 Dragonite to be exact. The youngster shivered fearfully as the Dragonite, Knight the man had called it, stared down at him, a curious look tugging at the draconic monster's face.

'Knight, stop that guy from leaving!' the man commanded gleefully and the Dragonite let out a low bubbling roar that seemed to echo through Oswin's very existence. Oswin gasped and ducked his head in fear, covering his head with his arms as the dragon type loomed over him. But the crushing blow that Oswin had been expecting never came. Instead he felt a surprisingly soft grip snatch the back of his hoodie, lifting him off the ground. Oswin hung there, rigid with fear. The man let out a chuckle when he noticed this.

'There's no need to look so scared! Knight isn't going to hurt you! Now, Knight, I'd really appreciate it if you could take this young fellow to the Pokémon Gym in this city and make sure he doesn't leave before obtaining a Boulder Badge' the man requested and the Dragonite let out another echoing roar that almost sounded like a joyous yet mournful song of angels.

At this, Oswin managed to force his fear aside, and a scowl graced his unamused face as he hung in the air by the back of his own hoodie.

'Hey! You can't do this! I told you! I'm not a trainer!' he shouted at the man whose eyes were twinkling in amusement.

'You'll only understand what I mean about pokemon by battling with them. Now Knight, guard the outside of the gym and if he tries to leave, bring him right back until he gets the message' the man laughed and Knight the Dragonite nodded its regal head in understanding. He unfolded his wings and flapped them once, propelling himself, and a screaming Oswin, high into the air.

'NO! STOP YOU GIANT FUCKER!' Oswin screamed as the air blasted him in the face, making him scrunch up his eyes to protect them against the wind. Knight didn't seem remote abashed by his choice of words. In fact, Oswin could have sworn he felt the Dragonite laughing judging by the way the dragon's belly shook slightly.

Within seconds Knight was losing high and dropped down in front of the Pewter City gym, plonking a ruffled looking Oswin on the ground in front of the doors on his arse. Oswin stood up, brushed himself off, and glared up at the Dragonite who calmly, if amusedly, looked right back down at him.

'Is your trainer completely crazy?!' Oswin demanded and the Dragonite chuckled as it shrugged its enormous shoulders. The great draconic creature than sternly pointed at the gym doors, then at Oswin, then back to the doors again. Oswin heaved a great sigh.

'You want me to go in there?' he asked miserably, and Knight nodded his head. Oswin sighed again. This wasn't a force he could fight. A level 60 Dragonite was WAY out of his league, but so was the gym leader! Unless…

_(If I pretend to go in there… I can sneak out when this Dragonite isn't looking, dodge around that weirdo guy, and be on my way…)_

Oswin was careful to keep his grin off his face as he ducked his head, feinting misery. He let out another, slightly over-the-top sigh as he nodded to his head, turned on his heel, and walked straight into the gym.

The first thing that met Oswin's eyes was darkness. All the lights were off for some reason, but Oswin was glad of it for now. He'd look pretty weird walking into a gym, peering out the windows, and then walking out again. He was glad there was no one around to see this. It would either be highly embarrassing, or he'd get arrested on suspicious of something.

As he cautiously looked through the glass windows, Oswin smirked as he saw the Dragonite ruffle its wings, and then sit down; its mighty back pressed up against a towering Oak Tree that was somehow sturdy enough to carry the Dragonite's bulky weight. Oswin smiled. Its eyes were closing! This was his chance!

Before anyone could come along and catch him, Oswin silently opened the door, and began tip-toeing out. He was almost around the corner of the building when it happened. Oswin stepped on a tiny twig, and it snapped, VERY loudly!

_(Fuck!)_

Oswin didn't stop when he heard the dissatisfied regal roaring behind him, nor did he turn to look back at the now miffed Dragonite. He just bolted for it. Weaving his way back through the streets of Pewter, Oswin didn't spare a thought for how weird his situation must look to the civilians and trainers. He was being chased by an honest to Arceus _Dragonite_!

He didn't make it very far however, and just as Oswin was beginning to tire, his pace dropping slightly, a gentle claw snagged the back of his hoodie, and Oswin found himself dangling in the air once again. He let out a moan of misery.

'Ooooh! This isn't fair! I don't _want_ to get a gym badge! I just want to go home! Why are you doing this to me?!' Oswin whined pitifully as Dragonite held him off the ground. Suddenly a voice Oswin was unfortunately coming to recognise came from close by.

'Because you're a little squirt that should respect his elders' the man that was the cause of all this madness told Oswin, his eyes dancing with amusement. At his words, Oswin scoffed loudly.

_(Elders?! He must only be twenty at most himself!)_

'You're not that much older than me!' Oswin pouted and the man laughed.

'Fair enough, I'm only nineteen, but I've been training for years so I know what's best when it comes to younger trainers' the man told him, not arrogantly, just… honestly. Oswin narrowed his eyes at the man.

'Perhaps you do, but I'm not a trainer! I don't WANT to be a trainer and I never WILL be a trainer!' he snapped and the man arched an eyebrow at him.

'But you have all the building-blocks to be a great trainer!' the man countered and Oswin frowned at him.

_(I do? How the hell can he tell that about me? He doesn't know me… unless, OH MY GOD! DO I HAVE A STALKER OR SOMETHING?!)_

'You don't even know me!' Oswin shouted in annoyance. The man heaved a loud sigh.

'True, but you've got a spark to you, a temperament. I'm sure that if you applied yourself, you'd make a first-rate trainer… in fact, I might just make that a pet project of mine' the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Oswin frowned, not liking where this was going on bit.

'What do you mean 'Pet project'? What project?' Oswin asked cautiously, his eyes narrowing on the man dangerously, his mind working furiously as to what those words could mean. The man was pinching the corners of his eyes now, clearly deep in thought, before he nodded to himself and clapped his hands, opening his eyes.

'Yes! That's what I'll do! I'm going to make you into a top trainer!' the man proclaimed and Oswin's jaw dropped.

_(This guy is completely insane! Who on earth just meets a new trainer… NO! I'm NOT a trainer! NOT a trainer! Anyway… who just meets a person and decides to make them into a top trainer?! A raving lunatic, that's who!)_

'Oh no you won't! I have a job to get back to! A life! I'm only going to be on the road for two months!' Oswin shouted loudly, but by this point he didn't care if anybody in the street was paying attention to them or not. It wasn't like Knight the Dragonite wasn't attracting quite a few stares already. Dragonite were incredibly rare pokemon after all.

The man just grinned up at him, knowing that considering Oswin was hanging in the air by the claws of a mighty dragon, he had the advantage in this situation.

'Two months huh? That's plenty of time! Now, Knight, take him back to the gym and this time, don't let the little guy get away!' the man laughed and Knight nodded, both of them completely immune and deaf to Oswin's loud protests.

Not five minutes later, Oswin found himself being dumped unceremoniously on the ground in front of the gym again. He looked up at Knight, who looked down at him, smirking and clearly amused.

'The same thing's gonna happen every time I try to escape… isn't it?' Oswin mumbled softly. The Dragonite nodded his regal head, his eyes sparkling, clearly enjoying himself. Oswin let out a low sigh.

_(Forced into a gym battle by a crazy man and his Dragonite… why me? Why does it always have to be me that attracts the weirdoes… weirdo **men** might I add?!)_

With no choice and a scowl on his face, Oswin was forced to step into the gym. It was dark, but once his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting he was able to make out a few basic features. He could vaguely see two pokemon statues, both in the shape of the powerful pokemon Rhydon, and a man stood next to one of them. The room itself was huge, the walls and ceiling were both charcoal grey and the floor was made up of a barren wasteland of rocks, huge boulders jutting out of the ground in random places.

_(What a right dump! You'd think with all that funding from the Pokémon League they'd be able to upgrade this place… but I suppose it might be like this to make the terrain more challenging to newbie trainers)_

Oswin hesitantly approached the man by the statue, wondering if he was the Gym Leader or not. He had black cropped hair, wore a blue waist coat and suit trousers, and he had black round-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose.

'Um, excuse me, are you the gym leader?' Oswin asked nervously as he approached the man. The man jumped, obviously having not seen him in the dark, but once he got over the shock his face split into a wide grin.

'Hiya! Do you want to dream big?' he asked, not answering Oswin's question and confusing the young teenager all at the same time.

'Errr… I guess so…' Oswin said feebly, wondering where this was leading.

_(Is EVERYONE weird in this city, or is it just me that seems to attract these people?!)_

'Do you dare dream of becoming the Pokémon Champ?' the man asked conspiringly.

'Huh? Oh… no, no!' Oswin stuttered out but it fell on deaf ears.

'I'm no trainer, but I can advise you on how to win' the man grinned at him.

'That's alright, I'm not a trainer either-' Oswin tried but it was no good. The man was clearly too caught up in his own spiel now that he had started it.

'Let me take you to the top?' he asked, and Oswin began to decline but once again it was hopeless.

_(Does this guy even realise I'm trying to say no, or are his glasses and ears so clogged up he just can't hear me?!)_

'All right! Let's get happening!' the man cried happily and Oswin let out a sigh. He might as well not even bother trying to answer the man whenever he asked a question. Clearly he already had Oswin's answers formed for him.

'Now, the first thing you should know is that you can't just go waltzing into a gym and expect to challenge the Gym Leader' the man said and Oswin frowned slightly. He actually HAD been expecting that.

'Ok, so how does it work then?' he reluctantly asked. He needed to this information if he was going to win himself a Boulder Badge after all, and the Boulder Badge was his only way of shaking off that man and his Dragonite. He couldn't afford to turn this man's information down.

'First you need to prove you're worth the Leader's time. They're very busy people after all, seeing as they need to protect their entire towns and help out when they can, and they don't have time to just wipe out loser trainers. So in order to determine which challenges they accept, each Gym has its own Gym Trainers. They basically study under the Gym Leader, hoping to master an element of Pokémon, usually the same one as the gym they train at. This gym only has one Gym Trainer, but some have many more. You'll need to beat them all to get to the Gym Leader' the man, or the Gym Guy as Oswin decided to dub him, explained to him.

'Great, so now I have to battle two people' Oswin said, not impressed, but the Gym Guy didn't pick up on his tone.

'That's right!' he said, mistaking Oswin's tone for one of enthusiasm.

'Ok, so I beat the Gym Trainers, then what?' Oswin pressed on, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

'You challenge the Gym Leader, and if you win, you'll earn yourself a Gym Badge, a TM and a varying amount of money too. You'll also be able to use a certain HM move out of battle' the Gym Guy explained. Now THAT was the part that really caught Oswin's attention. His eyes threatened to pop out of his head at the Gym Guy's words.

'Wait, you mean, you're not allowed to use moves such as Cut without getting Gym Badges?!' Oswin cried in alarm. If he couldn't use Cut without a specific gym badge, then this assignment was NEVER going to end!

_(Why? Why on top of everything else does **this** need to happen too?!)_

'Well, it's more dependent on the amount of badges rather than which badge you get. To use Cut outside of battle, you need at least two Gym Badges. Since most trainers don't have any Gym Badges before coming here, most people can only use the move Flash when beating the Gym Leader here in Pewter City' the Gym Guy told him, somewhat alarmed by Oswin's dramatic reaction.

'So I'd need to win here and somewhere else before I can use Cut?' Oswin asked to confirm and the Gym Guy nodded, not understanding why Oswin was so hung up and being able to use the move Cut outside of battle.

'Then that's what I'll have to do' Oswin muttered to himself, and without waiting for the man to continue, he stalked off further into the huge rocky room, the lights coming on as he stepped onto the field. Oswin winced and shielded his eyes. It was a little painful to see under the Florescence lights after all.

A young trainer stepped out from behind a large chipped and oddly shaped boulder. He was dressed in a green jacket, green shorts, and a matching hat. Oswin noted that he vaguely looked like a Camper, but if he was a Gym trainer he had to be tougher than your average Camper. Oswin approached him with caution.

'I'm told I need to beat the Gym Trainer before I can challenger the Gym Leader. I take it that's you?' Oswin asked carefully and the Camper gruffly nodded his head. It was a little strange to see such a young teenager acting in such a silent way, but Oswin wasn't about to question it. It wasn't any skin off his nose after all.

'That's right! And I'll tell you now kid, you're about ten-thousand light years away from facing Brock!' the Camper, whose name was Liam to be precise, told him smugly and Oswin chuckled.

'Is that so? Well let's get this show on the road then!' Oswin said, already thinking about tactics he might try here. The man that had forced him into this had said that this gym was dedicated to Rock type pokemon, which Rose was Super-Effective against. Plus she was capable of taking a hit, so Oswin knew this would be a perfect opportunity to get Mankey some levels whilst he was there. That would hopefully please Professor Oak as well, just as long as Mankey didn't attack him upon being released.

'Go, Geodude!' Liam cried, and before Oswin materialised a small rocky pokemon that was spherical in shape and had two bulky muscular arms. Its eyes were wide and constantly narrowed, making Geodude look constantly grumpy and annoyed. Oswin wasn't scared however. He knew that Geodude were fairly easy to defeat, and this one was only Level 10.

'Go, Mankey!' Oswin cried, releasing the Level 3 Mankey for the first time. He immediately spun around and glared murderously at Oswin, who gulped but reined in his fear, opting instead to kneel down before the small Fighting type. Mankey tensed up nervously, but was still looking at Mankey with anger in his eyes.

'Listen, I don't know if you're happy about being caught but I really don't care. You're an Official Lab pokemon now, so get used to it. I promise you that once you get sent to the Coral you'll be well looked after. Is that alright?' Oswin asked it quietly so that Liam wouldn't overhear him. The Mankey narrowed its eyes, but eventually nodded slowly. Oswin smiled tightly at him.

'Good, now let's get this battle started' he grinned, standing up straight and getting down to business.

'Finished chatting?! That's no way to battle! Go Geodude, teach this guy we don't like waiting, use Tackle!' Liam cried, and Geodude bounced forward, slamming into Mankey and wiping out almost all of his HP points. Oswin didn't mind that much. He was only using Mankey to get some training in anyway.

'Scratch!' Oswin smirked and Mankey scratched at Geodude, doing minimal damage but knocking Geodude away.

'Now Geodude…' Liam began but Oswin acted first.

'Return Mankey! Go Rose!' he cried, and soon Mankey vanished and Rose appeared in its place. Liam narrowed his eyes at Oswin.

'I see. So that explains why your Mankey is so weak. You only just caught it and you're using me to gain it some levels! That's just plain rude! Go Geodude, use Tackle on that Bulbasaur!' Liam shouted angrily and Geodude hurled itself at Rose, who effortlessly dodged the attack.

'Now Rose, use your Vine Whip!' Oswin cried and Rose extended her vines, grabbing hold of Geodude's arms and with ease and grace, the small female grass type sent the bulky Geodude flying. It hit one of the boulders on the field and promptly fainted. Liam was left gaping whilst Oswin smirked slightly.

On his belt, there came a quiet 'ding' which alerted Oswin to the fact that Mankey had just grown to Level 4.

'Return Geodude!' Liam cried.

'Return Rose!' Oswin added, intent on using the same tactic to try and get Mankey another level. This would be a pain for a while, all this switching, but now that Oswin was sure that Mankey wouldn't attack him, he intended on using the fighting type more whilst on this journey. After that, Mankey and Pidgey would both be free to live peacefully in the grounds of the Coral.

'Go, Sandshrew!' Liam cried, and an adorable yellow pokemon that was rather fat and mousey like appeared on the field. It had large black eyes that glistened in the light, and a white underbelly. It also had a short tail, and it appeared to be covered in reptilian scales from the top of its ears to the bottom of its clawed toes. It was level 11.

Mankey was also back on the field, but he wouldn't be for long. Oswin planned on getting him up a few levels before actually battling with him. Oswin was so focused on the match that he didn't even pause to realise that he was actually making strategies when it came to the pokemon he was using. That was he acting like… well, acting like a trainer.

'Mankey, come back! Rose go!' Oswin cried before Sandshrew could attack. He knew that Mankey wouldn't withstand another hit after all. Mankey disappeared once again and soon Rose was back. She looked up at Oswin with a grumpy expression.

'Bulbasaur!' (How am I supposed to sleep when you keep popping me in and out of my pokeball, moron?!) she glared up at him. Oswin scowled at her.

'Stop moaning and get battling. We're in a gym for Arceus' sake' Oswin snapped at her and Rose's mouth dropped open, before she grinned wickedly. She had always wanted to be strong, battle the gyms, be a regional champion, and if Oswin had decided to challenge the gyms, she might still get her chance.

'Don't look too excited. I'm only doing this before this crazy guy forced me into it' Oswin told her, before there came the sound of impatient coughing from the other end of the field.

'Excuse me but we're in the middle of something here! Honestly! Do you chat with every pokemon you've meant to be battling with?!' Liam shouted at him but Oswin just rolled his eyes.

'Go right ahead!' he waved his arm, an offer Liam immediately pounced on.

'Sandshrew, Sand-Attack' Sandshrew beat up a load of sand which he then kicked towards Rose, getting some in her eyes and decreasing her accuracy.

'Use Vine Whip!' Oswin cried, and soon enough Rose slapped Sandshrew around the face with her Vine Whip, One-Hit KO'ing him. Mankey grew another _two_ levels inside his pokeball, bring him up to level 6, and he learned Low Kick. Liam returned his fallen Sandshrew and scowled as he approached Oswin.

'Darn! I've just remembered that Light-years isn't time, it's distance!' he said in annoyance as he handed Oswin his winnings, £220 to be precise.

'So, can I challenge the Gym Leader now?' Oswin asked him and Liam nodded curtly.

'Yes, you're pretty hot, but Brock is WAY hotter!' Liam smirked before he turned and exited the gym, no doubt heading to the Pokémon Centre to heal up his pokemon. Oswin frowned after him.

_(Did he seriously just call me hot? Did that guy like me or something?)_

Shaking off the strange comment, Oswin continued forwards in the gym, peering around in the dimly lit room, trying to see if anybody was there.

'Hello? Is anyone there?' he called after a few moments of futile searching.

'Welcome!' a rough voice answered him, making Oswin jump. He span around wildly, looking for the owner of the voice, who chuckled before revealing himself. From the shadow of a huge boulder stepped the Gym Leader, and Oswin arched an eyebrow at him.

The Gym Leader was taller than Oswin, and looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. He had dark tanned skin and a somewhat muscular built. His hair was a very dark brown and gelled up into a wild mane of spikes. He wore an orange T-shirt and brown cargo trousers and a green puffer jacket. A pokeball was clutched in his grasp.

'I'm Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City, what is your name?' Brock asked politely.

'It's Oswin, Oswin Oak' Oswin told him and Brock nodded at him.

'I watched your battle back there. I must say I was both surprised and impressed. Not many trainers have ever applied the switching tactic to raise one of their weaker pokemon whilst in a Pokémon Gym, but since the trainers in gyms are generally stronger you'd think more people would do that. I congratulate you on your thought process' Brock grinned at him and Oswin smiled back, opting not to tell Brock that he wasn't a trainer nor had he thought too much about it.

'But enough of all that. You have come here for a Gym Battle, and that is what you shall get. Oswin, show me your power!' Brock cried, hurling his pokeball through the air whilst Oswin released Mankey. Brock's pokemon turned out to be a level 12 Geodude. Brock smiled at Oswin choice of pokemon.

'Still using your switching tactic I see, that's fine. Geodude, hit Mankey quickly!' Brock smirked, clearly intent on showing Oswin why it was NOT a good idea to use a switching tactic whilst in a gym battle. Geodude began rolling forwards at great speed. Oswin gulped. That Geodude was a lot tougher than any other pokemon he had met so far. He quickly brought up the O.L ball.

'Return! Rose, you're up!' Oswin cried, and once again Mankey vanished whilst Rose appeared in a flash of scarlet light. Immediately the Grass type's eyes landed on Geodude, and she instantly knew that this was it. She was in a gym battle! Her first one! And she loved it!

'Bulbasaur!' (Bring it on Pebble-dash!) She smirked at Geodude, who growled angrily as he rolled towards her. He tried to hit Rose with a Tackle, but the Grass type used her Vine Whip on one of the boulders and reeled herself towards it, easily dodging Geodude's attack. Rose landed on top of the boulder, smirking down at Geodude.

'Nice dodge Rose, now use Leech Seed!' Oswin grinned, and Rose fired off a Leech Seed from her bulb. The seed latched onto Geodude, and his health began dwindling away.

'Geodude! Break it off!' Brock yelled but Geodude was having too difficult a job of freeing his arms long enough to do so. More and more of his strength was being sapped into Rose, who was getting stronger and stronger with each passing moment.

'Ok Rose, now use Vine Whip!' Oswin smirked and Rose laughed evilly as she extended her vines, latched them around Geodude and began spinning him around and around, faster and faster, higher and higher until finally… she let go, and Geodude was sent face first into the ceiling.

'Geodude! No!' Brock cried in alarm as Geodude became dislodged from the ceiling and plummeted to the floor, kicking up a dust cloud in the process. When the dust cleared, it was obvious that Geodude could not continue. Rose had won. She also grew to level 14 as a result of the battle.

'Geodude, return. You did your best' Brock sighed as he returned Geodude's pokeball to his belt.

'You did great Rose!' Oswin laughed as Rose stalked back over to him. She smirked up at her trainer.

'Bulbasaur!' (Well of course I was! Did you expect anything less from me?!) She rolled her eyes at her trainer.

'This isn't over yet! Go, Onix!' Brock cried, releasing a pokemon that made Oswin heart jump up into his throat and his eyeballs bulge out of his head. The pokemon took up half the battle field, and it was bloody coiled in on itself! At full length, it wouldn't have fit! The pokemon was made up of boulders, which were larger at the head and gradually getting smaller as they went down its body to its tail. It was a serpent in form, and a charcoal grey in colour. The creature had a huge stone horn and large white eyes that were narrowed on Oswin and Rose. It was at level 14.

_(Fucking hell! That thing will kill any of my pokemon! We can't battle that thing!)_

'What the hell is that thing?' Oswin cried in alarm, his eyes wide as he stared at the monstrosity before him. Rose on the other hand looked enthralled by the chance to battle that thing; whilst Oswin was worried it would grind her into the ground in just one shot. Brock smirked at Oswin's reaction, clearly amused by it.

'That 'thing' is my starter pokemon, Onix! Do you like it?' Brock asked smugly as Oswin openly gaped at him.

'That pokemon was your starter?!' he cried in alarm. Brock sniggered and nodded casually, and Oswin's jaw hung down by his knees.

'Errr… Rose, do you think you can survive this one?' Oswin asked faintly. He might not like her very much, but he honestly didn't want Rose to be hurt or even worse killed, but he would let it be her decision. Rose looked up at him, a fire in her eyes.

'Bulbasaur!' (Of course I can!) Rose growled, feeling a little insulted by her trainer's lack of faith in her. Oswin let out a tired sigh, but eventually he nodded his head.

'It's your funeral' he muttered as Rose took a few tentative steps forwards, a look of fixed determined etched into her face.

'Not using your switching tactic this time? A wise choice. Onix, Tackle!' Brock cried. Onix reared up and charged at Rose. Most of his bulky form missed her, thankfully or else he'd have crushed her, but his sharp horn caught Rose's side, dealing some minor damage.

'Quick Rose, Leech Seed!' Oswin cried, knowing that Rose's only hope in this match was to try and drain Onix's strength. Rose bounded towards Onix and fired her Leech seed as high as she could. It snagged Onix just under the chin, and soon enough small weeds were attaching themselves to Onix's boulders, draining the energy from them. Some of the damage Rose had taken was restored to her.

'Onix! Tackle again!' Brock yelled and with a loud rumbling roar, Onix slammed into Rose at full pelt, this time hitting her dead on and sending her flying high into the air. She crashed back down to earth, hurt but still conscious and able to battle. She grunted with pain as a nasty blackish purple bruise blossomed along her side where she had landed on the rocky terrain.

'Bulbasaur!' (You'll pay for that one Stone-turd!) she shrieked at Onix, who roared in rage at the name she had dubbed him with.

'Vine Whip!' Oswin instructed and with a look of savage pleasure on her little face, Rose followed through the command and struck Onix all over his body. When she stopped, Onix was looking worn and when the Leech Seed sapped more of his strength, he crashed down to the ground, his eyes drawn shut, completely out cold. Oswin gaped at the sight. Rose, a tiny Bulbasaur, had just taken down a massive frigging _Onix_!

'Rose I… I can't believe it, you actually won!' Oswin cried, gobsmacked, whilst Rose smirked happily, pleased with her efforts but less pleased with the way the battle had gone.

'Bulbasaur' (I'd have thought that Gym Pokemon would be tougher than those weaklings. They were so pathetic, this wasn't a match, it was _sport_!) was all the little grass type had to say. The Exp was good for her though, because it had nearly brought her up to level 15 but not quite. One more battle should do it though.

Brock sighed as he returned his Onix, clearly disappointed in himself for losing to a trainer, even if he wasn't a trainer, that didn't have a single Gym Badge. Once the battlefield was void of the gigantic rock type, he calmly walked over to Oswin, offering his hand for him to shake.

'Good job Oswin, I took you for granted, and so I lost. As proof of your victory, I confer on you this… the official Pokémon League Boulder Badge' Brock grinned as Oswin shook his hand. When they broke apart, Brock brought a small badge out of his pocket. It was octagonal in shape, and as hard as a stone. It was grey in colour, and although it wasn't over complex in design, it was rather pretty to look at. Oswin took it, smiling slightly. He'd admit, getting that badge had been a lot more fun than he thought it would have been.

'Thanks Brock' Oswin grinned as he carefully stowed the badge away in his pocket. Next to his leg, Rose watched him as he put the badge away, smirking as he did so. If she had her way, which she was determined to get, they'd be getting a lot more of those shiny little badges soon. And then they'd be entering the Pokémon League, whether Oswin wanted to or not.

'Just having the Boulder Badge makes your pokemon more powerful. Is that your first badge?' Brock asked and Oswin nodded silently. Brock's smile widened slightly.

'In that case you'll now be legally allowed to use the move Flash outside of battle. Of course, a pokemon must know the move Flash in order to use it… oh, and this is you're as well, for winning the match' Brock said, handing Oswin an envelope with some money inside of it, £1400 to be precise.

'Thanks a lot Brock, see you later' Oswin went to turn away, but Brock lightly grabbed his arm, stopping him from going.

'Wait! Take this with you as well!' Brock said, handing Oswin a shiny silver disc like a CD. Oswin stared at it, knowing what it was immediately without having to ask. It was a TM, a device capable of teaching pokemon a new move by downloading data straight into their brains. A marvel of modern technology.

'That's TM39, it contains the move Rock Tomb… and this…' Brock trailed off, handing Oswin a small device that looked a bit like a hand held computer. There was a slot in the base of it, for the TM to be inserted into, a storage compartment in the side for any other TMs, and a grove on the top for a pokeball to be inserted into. There was also a small screen on the front of it.

'That's a TM case. You'll need it to teach your Pokémon moves from any TMs you get. Just place the pokeball in the top and voila! Your pokemon will learn a new move, but remember, it'll have to forget an old move first, as well as the fact that TMs can only be used once, so make your decisions wisely' Brock warned him and Oswin nodded, placing the TM39 in the storage compartment before stashing both devices away in his bag.

'Now, unless there's anything else I'm afraid I must be leaving. There's a troublesome Rhyhorn causing trouble in the area and I need to track it down and catch it before it hurts anyone' Brock stated and Oswin smiled at him.

'Nope, that's all. Thanks again Brock, I'll be seeing you' Oswin smiled at him one last time, before he turned and walked out of the gym, his newly acquired Boulder Badge safe and sound in his pocket. Rose smirked as she followed after her trainer.

'Bulbasaur' (One down, seven to go…) she smirked to herself, just knowing that she'd find a way to get them all, with or without Oswin's consent.

…

When Oswin stepped out of the gym, the first thing he saw was the beaming face of the man that had forced him into all that. Knight, the bulky Dragonite, was stood behind his trainer, his eyes also seemingly smiling down at Oswin. Oswin narrowed his eyes on the man, distaste etched into his face. The man arched an amused eyebrow at him.

'Why don't you like me?' was what he asked immediately. The smile didn't leave his face. Oswin looked somewhat confused by the man's question. Whatever he had been expecting, THAT had not been it.

'What makes you think I don't like you?' Oswin countered with. The man's smile widened if anything. Oswin scowled at him. That man was so bloody annoying!

'You scowl like that every single time you clap eyes on me' the man grinned and Oswin let out a sigh.

'Well if you don't like people scowling at you, you shouldn't force them into doing things they don't want to do' Oswin pointed out to him and the man laughed.

'You've got a point there mate, but if I did that… well, I wouldn't get to see adorable rookies like you scowling at me, like you can beat me in a battle' the man told him with a chuckle and Oswin scowled once again. The man's smirk widened.

'I'm not _adorable_, and I'm not a rookie trainer!' Oswin snapped at him and the man just raised his eyebrow at him again.

'If you say so, _Little Mister Adorable_… so how did your battle go?' the man asked and Oswin's eyes flashed at the nickname but he pushed past it, ignoring it for the moment.

'I won… didn't lose a single pokemon' Oswin held up his newly acquired Boulder Badge. The man's eyes lit up.

'See I knew you could do it! So, are you going to take on the Gym Circuit now that you know how much fun it is?' the man asked eagerly and Oswin frowned at him.

'I'm going to get the badge that will allow me to use Cut outside of battle, then I'm coming back here, doing my job before heading home' Oswin told him honestly and the man sighed, deflating slightly.

'So you still can't see it yet? You're tougher to crack then I thought. Nope! It won't do! You're going to see the charm of battling with pokemon, even if it kills me' the man grinned and Oswin just looked at him.

'Why are you so set on getting me to see 'the charm of battling', you don't even know me! You don't even know my name!' Oswin cried in annoyance and the man laughed again.

'You're right! I don't! So what is it?' the man asked and Oswin sighed.

_(Should I tell this guy the truth, I mean, he's obviously a bit crazy, or maybe he's just too hyperactive. Nah! This guy is definitely completely nuts! Still, he'll probably find out some other way. He could look me up on the League Trainer Data Base or something…)_

'I can look you up on the League Trainer Data Base if you prefer' the man smirked and Oswin looked at him weirdly.

_(Did he just read my thoughts or something?)_

'Oswin Oak' he eventually said. The man offered him his hand, and Oswin hesitantly shook it.

'Pleasure to meet you Oswin Oak' the man smiled at him warmly. Oswin's expression was less inviting though.

'I wish I could say the same… Mr…?' Oswin replied casually, a hint of sarcasm in his tone of voice.

'Oh! Not 'Mr', I hate being called 'Mr'. The name's Sam, Sam Ffitch' the man, or Sam as Oswin had just learnt, grinned at him. Oswin didn't say anything for a while, so after a long pause, Sam broke the silence.

'Oh! By the way, I've got something for you' he said, suddenly remembering something, and he began patting down his pockets. He soon found what it was he was looking for, and from out of his pocket he brought out a strange golden coloured seed of some kind. Oswin stared at it. The seed seemed to glisten in the sunlight slightly in a strange way, and it was about as big as Oswin's little finger.

'What's that for? Growing a berry tree?' Oswin asked sarcastically and Sam scoffed slightly.

'No! My presents are always WAY better than that! This is a Miracle Seed. If you give it to a Grass Type pokemon, it increases the power of their Grass Type moves by 10%' Sam said and Oswin frowned at him again.

'How did you know I have a Grass Type pokemon?' Oswin wondered and Sam smiled.

'Lucky guess, plus you strike me as the type to pick a Grass pokemon for their starter. So go on then, take it' Sam said, brandishing the Miracle Seed at Oswin. Oswin hesitated again, but took the seed, storing it away in his bag. He'd give it to Rose later.

'Thank you' he said begrudgingly and Sam's smile widened.

'So, what's next?' Sam asked him and Oswin sighed.

'Get my pokemon to the Pokémon Centre' Oswin said calmly and Sam laughed.

'That's not exactly what I meant' he told him, once again looking amused by the younger trainer, whilst Oswin merely shrugged.

'Well that's the answer I'm giving you' Oswin said, turning and beginning to walk away. Sam hurried after him, returning Knight to his pokeball in the process.

'I'll come with you' was all he said brightly to Oswin's questioning look. Oswin sighed once again, nodded, before turning and walking away with Sam in toe.

…

In the end Oswin spent much more time in the Pokémon Centre with Sam than he had planned. After he had had Rose and the others restored to full health, Sam had taken him to the centre's canteen for some dinner, and the two of them stayed there for several hours, just… talking.

Oswin couldn't explain why, but he felt that he could trust Sam more than anybody else he had met whilst on the road. And Sam seemed to enjoy Oswin's company immensely. They talked about a lot of things, such as what they were both hoping to achieve whilst travelling, what they wanted from themselves, and how they planned on getting there.

Oswin learnt that Sam was a trainer from the Johto region, that Knight had been his starter and was the strongest member of his team. But Sam wasn't just a travelling trainer. He was an Elite trainer, and had managed to defeat three of Kanto's Elite four after winning the Pokemon League Tournament two years ago, when he had been only seventeen, one of the youngest trainers ever to win the intense competition. Oswin had only been thirteen at the time, and he had never seen any of Sam's matches on the television so he knew of his new friend's true power.

Lorelei, the intelligent and quick-witted Ice Type Master, with her super speedy and powerful Lapras had fallen to Sam's amazing powerhouse of a Magmortar, or Maggie as Sam called her. Sam had received a Magby Egg as thanks for saving a Fire Breather from falling off a cliff-top, and he had travelled far and wide with her, raising her up into the strongest Magmortar she could possibly be.

Bruno, the strong and silent Fighting Type Master, and his amazing quick footed Hitmonlee fell to Kinesis, Sam's extremely powerful Alakazam. Sam had been asked to look after a lonely Abra by his Grandmother, a Professor in a region outside of the League, unheard of by most trainers and an almost deserted charter of the planet. Sam had raised him into a Kadabra and had then traded him and traded him back to help him grow into an Alakazam. The creature was now rumoured to be on par with Professor Oak's almost legendary Alakazam.

Agatha, the sarcastic and somewhat arrogant Ghost Type Master, and her partner, the joking and fun-loving Gengar, fell to Sneak, Sam's fast-moving and sneaky Weavile, one of Sam's oldest friends and strongest pokemon, found deep in a cave as a tiny Sneasel, injured and alone by Sam, who nursed him back to health all by himself. He had later evolved, but his loyalty to Sam had never wavered once.

Sam was a trainer that was one of the strongest in both the Kanto region AND the Johto region. His dream was like Ash's and Gary's. He wanted to beat Lance and become the new regional champion, only Sam was a little closer to making that dream a reality than either of those two newbies.

The only problem was, he kept falling to Lance's team of insanely powerful Dragon Type pokemon. After all, Lance was the strongest trainer in two regions, and only Steven from Hoenn and Cynthia from Sinnoh, along with Alder of Unova and Diantha of the Kalos region were on par with him. Even Knight and Sneak, despite having the type advantage over Lance, were never enough to defeat Lance's team, despite how many times they had tried.

So now Sam was travelling around Kanto again, catching some new pokemon, and to just take a break for constantly trying to defeat Lance, to work on some new strategies, and to train his team up so that they were even stronger. He was positive that one day he would make it; he just had to keep on trying. It was one of the benefits of winning the Pokémon League Tournament. It meant that you were always free to take on the Elite Four and the Champion any time in the future without having to win the tournament again.

Likewise, Oswin told him about working as Professor Oak's assistant, which had greatly impressed Sam, and he told him all about wanting to be a writer, which Sam had no hesitancy in telling him that he thought was a waste of his potential. Oswin of course had no trouble telling him to fuck off, and yet despite the fact that they always seemed to end up bickering, the two of them undoubtable formed a bond. They were friends, whether they liked it or not. Oswin knew that the way in which they had become acquainted wasn't the best way to make a new friend, but he counted Sam as a friend none the less.

By the time they parted ways for their rented rooms at the Pokémon Centre, much later that night, Oswin had playfully-reluctantly agreed to let Sam accompany him through Route 3 to the entrance of Mt Moon. Sam claimed that he wanted travel with him for a while, but by that point he'd need to leave on Knight. Apparently he was planning on heading to the Seafoam Islands to catch a strong water or ice type to train, like a Golduck or maybe even a Dewgong, another little pet project of his whilst he tried to figure out a way to beat Lance. He promised he'd be back at some later point though. Oswin wouldn't admit it, but the idea of having a travelling companion for a while appealed to him. It would certainly make the next two months a little less boring for him at any rate.

As Oswin slipped into dreamland, his mind was caught up on the way Sam acted around him, like he had known him for years and treated him with familiarity. It troubled Oswin a little bit, but it didn't really alarm him. After all, Sam struck him as a popular guy that was kind and friendly to everyone he met. And there wasn't a crime in that after all.

The only other thought that filled Oswin's mind as it began to drift into slumber was the challenge that presented itself to him now, namely the next two months on the road that were ahead of him. But he was trying to focus on his short term plan, because he once, he actually had one.

In fact, his short term aim was very clear to him. Oswin Oak was heading for Mt Moon, and Mt Moon had better be ready for him.

His goal – to find his way through the mountain labyrinth and get to the city of Cerulean which lay waiting for him on the other side.

**...**

**So, what do you guys think of Oswin's crazy new friend? I did mention him in the summary, but he is extremely important to the plot of this story and the whole series in fact, so I hope you like Sam's character : ) But anyway, that's Pewter City over and done with and next chapter should take us through to the end of Mt Moon, but anyone who has played the games knows how long that place is so I'm not sure if I'll need to break it down any more. Plus, I've got some pretty important ideas of my own to incorporate into the Mt Moon arch, AND there's other stories I want to work on first, so my next update will be... whenever I can get around to it basically... OH! By the way, I'm still taking suggestions for Oswin's Fiore pokemon, but since he'll be going around ALL the regions, feel free to drop a suggestion for any other region too. I'd appreciate any nickname suggestions with them as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and will stick around for the next chapter : )**


End file.
